Mixed Lives
by BuffyL
Summary: THE LAST SIX CHAPTERS HAVE BEEN ADDED! A different twist of My Own Version. Connor accidentally reunites Buffy and Angel, leading them into an epic battle of good versus evil. R&R ENJOY!
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Connor roamed the streets of nighttime LA. He had grown up his entire life as Steven and now he was known as Connor because that's what the vampire had named him and that's what his father had asked him to go by. He glanced back the way he had come and could still smell the ocean where he had dumped Angelus not even three hours ago. Not knowing what else to do, he left Justine standing on the pier and walked away. He wouldn't go back to Angelus' home and he couldn't go back to the hotel where his father had been staying. So, he walked.

Before he knew it, he was standing at the city limits on the side of the interstate. A car pulled up and a pretty red headed woman rolled down her window. "Hey kid, need a ride somewhere?"

Connor looked at her. "Where are you headed?"

"San Francisco. Where are you headed?"

"Anywhere but here."

"Hop in." Connor opened the side door and got in. "Boy, you sure do travel light."

"I don't own anything."

"I see why you're leaving." She smiled at him. "I'm Shana."

"Connor."

"Pretty name."

They drove for two hours with a one sided conversation going on and the music playing. Connor stared out the window and saw a sign for a town called Sunnydale as they got off on its exit. "Where are we going?"

"I've got to get some gas." Shana said.

"Oh." While she stood at the pump, Connor walked into the store and looked around. It was a small convenience store with candy and drinks and everything else you'd expect to find.

Shana walked in to pay for her gas and get something to drink. "I'm gonna use the bathroom."

"Ok." Connor stepped outside and something on the air caught his attention. It felt…. Wrong. And it was pulling at his insides. Not knowing what else to do, he followed his instincts and let the wrong air pull him towards it. He heard Shana calling to him to come back, but he ignored her and made his way down the road. Eventually, he came to a small downtown area that was closed down for the night. He looked at the clock in a store window and it said it was 4:30 in the morning.

Shrugging it off, Connor kept moving. He found himself picking his way through a large graveyard when he heard a noise a few feet away from him behind a mausoleum. He went to investigate, but he was suddenly thrown to the ground by a petite blonde woman. Assuming she had to be a vampire with that kind of strength in her tiny little body, he started to fight back. She managed to pin him against the mausoleum and then…. Whipped out a stake?

"Stop!" Connor said.

"Give me one good reason." She said.

"I'm not a vampire."

She looked at him for a moment, sizing him up and sniffing the air in front of him. After a long moment, she released him. "Who are you?"

"Connor. Who are you?"

Buffy stared at him for another long moment before she said, "I'm the Slayer."

"What's that?"

She blinked, flabbergasted that there was still someone out there who didn't know what a Slayer was. "The Vampire Slayer? Pretty self-explanatory."

"Uh huh." Connor dusted his pants off. "Pretty strong for a girl."

"Slayer. Comes with the package."

"Who are you?"

She pocketed the stake. "I'm Buffy. So, what's a kid like you doing out this late in a place like Sunnydale?"

"I don't know. Something drew me here. I was on my way to San Francisco with Shana, but we stopped to get gas and I felt like I needed to be here."

Buffy smiled. "The Hellmouth is still using its mojo I see."

"Mojo?"

Her eyebrows lifted in astonishment. "Mojo? As in…. Funky magics? Allure?" Connor just nodded. "So, you were with your girlfriend…."

"She wasn't my girlfriend."  
"And you ditched her because you could feel the bad vibes of the Hellmouth a'callin'?"

"Pretty much?"  
"Where did you come from?"

"Los Angeles."

"What are you?"

"What do you mean?"

"That was some serious fighting you were doing back there. And you weren't packing a girly punch."

"I don't know what I am."

"Well, as long as your not some evil creature come to the Hellmouth to destroy humanity, I'm cool." She stared at him for a moment and then turned to walk away.

"Hey, where are you going?"

"Home. I'm going to sleep in and enjoy my solitude." She glanced back at him. "I suggest you get off the streets and go home to wherever you're calling home."

"I don't have a home."

Buffy stopped and looked back at the kid. There was something familiar about him, she just couldn't place what. She sighed. "Come on, you can crash at my house. I've got a spare room you can have."

"Thank you." He followed her back to her house and into the kitchen.

"Are you hungry?"

"A little."

"I've got day-old pizza I can heat up."  
"Sure." Connor looked around the place. "Pretty big house for just one person."

"Oh, I don't live here alone. My sister's in Europe visiting our dad and my friend Willow is in England visiting some coven. There was another woman living here, but she died."

"Oh."

"So, what's your story?"

Connor shrugged. "My father raised me. I never knew my mother. She killed herself when I was born. My father took me to Los Angeles because that's where the vampire lived that killed his family a long time ago. He wanted to kill the vampire, but the vampire killed him in the end."

"I'm sorry." Buffy handed him the heated up pizza on a plate. "Did you go after the vamp yourself?"

"A friend of my father's helped me."

"What did you do?"

"I got rid of him."

"Sounds like he got what he deserved." Connor nodded. "Well, I'll tell you what…. You can stay here as long as you like. My sister won't be back for another two months and it'll be good to have some company around here."

"Thank you."

"Don't mention it. You seem like a good kid with some seriously bad luck. Come on, I'll show you where you can sleep." Connor set down his pizza and followed Buffy up the stairs to a room almost at the end of the hall. "This is my old room. I moved into that one down there." She pointed to the door at the other end of the hall near the stairs. "Dawn's room the door you saw in front of the stairs and that door directly across from here is the bathroom."

"Ok."

"Did you bring a bag? I didn't see one earlier."

"I don't own anything."

"Oh." Buffy smiled. "I'm sure Xander wouldn't mind giving you some of his clothes until we can get you some more."

"Ok."

Buffy opened the door to her old room and flipped on the light. "Sorry about the slight girly-ness. My mom and I decorated this when I was 16. Never really had the time to redecorate it."

"It's ok. I've never really had a room of my own, so anything's ok with me."

She smiled and squeezed his arm. "Well, you can have this room. It was just going to sit there until you came along…. Or until I got the urge to have a game room, but luckily you came along cause I wouldn't know what to do with a game room anyway."

Connor smiled. "You're funny."

"That's a first. It's usually, 'hey, you're weird' or 'you're a problem to society.'" He laughed. "Get some sleep Connor. I'll see you in the morning. Or afternoon, depending on when I can drag myself out of bed tomorrow…. Today." She shrugged and headed back downstairs to clean up the kitchen before going to bed.

* * *

Two months later, Connor was settled in at Buffy's house and they had become close friends. Buffy was teaching him fighting methods and training him to be a better fighter and the two of them went out on regular patrols. Connor hadn't ever been this happy in his life that he could remember. Killing demons and monsters used to make him happy, but since meeting Buffy, he'd come to learn that killing demons to help people made him happier.

And he'd also learned that just being with Buffy made him happy too. She'd been the nicest person he'd met since coming to this world from Quar-Toth. She had given him a home when she hadn't even known him and then became his friend and gave him a purpose in life. Sometimes when she was around, he found it hard to speak to her. His words got mixed up and he ended up standing there and blushing at her. Thankfully, she didn't seem to notice it. Or if she did, she was choosing to ignore it.

At the moment, Connor stood in the basement where Buffy had set up a little training room. He had intended on working out down here while she was out with her friend Xander, but had quickly gotten bored and started wandering around the room. He looked at the stairs and then took them two at a time. He started to meander around the house, checking out pictures of Buffy and her friends and family. He liked the one of her, her sister, and her mother. She had told him about her mother and when she died, Buffy had found her lying on the couch. He didn't understand how she had died, but he knew that it had upset Buffy a lot because it was something that she couldn't save her mother from.

Moving away from the picture, Connor headed back downstairs and looked at the shelves holding boxes and plastic containers. He picked up one that said pictures and sat down on a mat, opening the box. Inside the box were envelopes and small plastic containers full of pictures. He started going through them, smiling every time he saw one of Buffy smiling or just looking pretty. At the bottom of the box was a big manila envelope that was simply marked _Angel_. Curious, he picked it up and carefully opened it.

The first thing he pulled out was a beautiful drawing of Buffy that even Connor could tell had been done out of pure love for her. The next thing was a picture frame and what he saw staring back at him made his blood turn to ice water and then his heart pound with anger. It was a picture of Buffy and Angelus together with their arms around each other looking up into the other's face with loving smiles. On the back of the picture, a tiny plastic bag was taped there and in the bag was a beautiful silver ring with delicately carved hands holding a crowned heart. Connor didn't know what it all meant, but he knew his Buffy had known Angelus and had known him too well for his taste.

When Buffy got home, the house was seemingly deserted. "Connor?" She called. When there was no answer, she put her coat on the coat rack and headed into the kitchen. He wasn't there, so she searched the house until she found him sitting in the basement with pictures strewn about him. "I see you've found my pictures." He didn't answer her. "Everything ok?" She walked down the stairs and saw that he was holding the picture frame Angel had gotten her with the picture of the two of them at the Bronze.

"You knew him." Connor said quietly.

"Who?" She glanced at the frame. "Angel? Yeah." When Connor didn't say anything, she walked over and sat down in front of him. "Did you know him?" Connor dropped the picture frame on the ground and the glass broke. He stood up and walked away from her. "Connor what is this about?"

"Why didn't you tell me you knew him? Why didn't you tell me about him?"

"Because I didn't know you knew him. How did you…." Buffy stopped and stared at Connor. Angel had been the vampire that had killed Connor's father's family. Angel was the vampire that Connor hated so much. "Connor, how do you know Angel?"

"He's my real father. Holtz was the man that raised me, but he wasn't my real father. That monster was."

"Connor…." She looked closer and Connor and realized that he looked so much like Angel, it was scary. And she also felt stupid for not seeing it earlier. "You were just a baby. Oh God…. He was so devastated when he lost you. How did you get back?"  
"I found a way."

Buffy's mind was racing until it hit on Connor's words. _I got rid of him_. "What did you do?" Connor shook his head. "Connor, where's Angel? What did you do to him? Is he still alive?"

"That demon was never alive."

"Don't call him that. What did you do to him?"

"You betrayed me! You're just like the rest of them!" He started to bolt past her, up the stairs, but she caught him and held him there.

"I didn't betray you! I took you in! I gave you a home when you had nowhere else to go! Please Connor!" He looked away from her. "Please, what did you do to him? Is he still alive?" He still didn't say anything. "Connor, I'm still your friend. I understand that you were misled, but Angel is a good person and he did NOT kill the man you think of as your father. Please, trust me."

Connor shook his head. "You're the only real friend I've ever had."

"I still am."

"Why do you care about him so much?"

"It's complicated." Connor glared at her. "Connor, it's too complicated to explain right now. I need you to trust me."

"Why?"

"I never meant to hurt you. If I'd have known about Angel being your father sooner, I would've told you. But Connor, this is important. What did you do to him?"

Connor looked at Buffy's panic filled eyes and felt guilty that he was hurting her. "Justine had a boat. We locked him in a coffin and threw him in the ocean."

"Oh God."

Connor felt Buffy's grip on his arm weaken as she struggled to stay standing. "I don't remember where we were though. I just remember a lot of ocean."

After a long moment, Buffy managed to take a couple of deep breaths and look at Connor. "You may not remember, but I'll bet you anything Justine will." Connor nodded. "Do you think you could find her?"

Connor nodded again. "I can follow her scent."

"Then we're going to LA. Pack a bag."


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Buffy sat on the bed of her father's apartment and looked out over the city. It had been a week and there had been no sign of Justine. Connor couldn't pick up her scent anywhere. She placed her face in her hands and let out a deep, shuddering sigh as she tried not to think of how hopeless it was starting to look. While they were searching for Justine, Buffy had told Connor about her relationship with Angel and hadn't left any of the details out. He deserved to know it all. By the end of the week, Connor had admitted that his perception of Angel was distorted so bad he didn't know what to think anymore.

She understood. It was the same reaction with everyone but herself. She could see the lines and know the difference between Angel and Angelus. She had a map whereas everyone else just followed her on faith and got a little lost on the way. Buffy shook her head and stood up, walking to the window. He was out there, in the ocean, alone…. Who knew what he was feeling? Was he scared? Hurt? Did he know it had been his own son to betray him? Had he forgiven him by now or was he seething with rage? What had two months under the ocean with no food done to him?

A knock on the door startled her out of her grim thoughts. "Come in." She called.

Connor walked into the room. "I just thought of something that might help."

Buffy looked over at him. "What's that kiddo?"

"Gunn and Fred?"

"Who?" She thought for a minute and then remembered Angel telling her about his friends. "Oh. Do you think they'll help us?"

"Probably. They were his friends, right?"

"Would they be up this late?"

"They keep the same hours we do."

Buffy nodded. "Ok."

* * *

"Hello?" Buffy called into the empty lobby. "Gunn? Fred?"

"They must not be here." Connor said.

Buffy walked over to the counter where some papers were sitting. She read through a couple of them. "Looks like they've been searching for Angel and having about as much luck as we have with Justine."

"None?"

She nodded. "At the rate we're all headed, this could take a long time."

"Can I help you?" A woman asked from the stairs. "Connor!" She rushed down the stairs. "Where have you been?"

"Connor?" A tall black man asked, coming down the stairs behind the woman. "Where the hell did you disappear to!? We've been searching everywhere for you and your father and Cordelia!"

"Cordelia's missing?" Buffy asked.

"Who are you?"

"That's Buffy." Connor said. "Buffy, that's Gunn and this is Fred."

"Buffy?" Fred asked. "As in Angel's Buffy?" Connor grimaced at Fred calling Buffy Angel's, but he nodded. "How do you know her?"

"He showed up in Sunnydale without a place to stay." Buffy said.

"You ran away!?" Gunn asked. "You should've called. We've been worried that something had happened to you."

"He was safe." Buffy said. "He's been with me."  
"What are you doing in LA?" Fred asked.

"Looking for Angel."

"How did you know he was missing?" Gunn asked.

"I wanted to talk to him about Connor, but no one answered the phone and his cell phone's been shut off." Buffy lied. "I got worried."

"Have you had any luck?" Fred asked. Buffy shook her head. "Neither have we." She moved over to the papers on the counter. "We've been following leads, but they always dead end."

"I know he's in the ocean."

"What?"

"How do you know that?" Gunn asked.

"We've been following leads too." Buffy lied again.

"Then you've had some luck." Fred said.

"No. We don't know where in the ocean. The person that dumped him has gone missing."

"Do you know who?" Gunn asked.

"A woman by the name of Justine."

"That bitch. Shoulda known it was her."

"Problems with her?"

"More than you know."  
Buffy nodded. "Connor and I have been searching for over a week for her. She must've skipped town."

"What now?" Fred asked.

"I guess we get a boat and start searching." Gunn said.

"That's a lot of ocean." Fred said. "He could've been dumped anywhere. We'll never find him."

"No. We'll find him." Buffy said. "It'll just take a really long time. Especially if we don't have a boat."

"I know a guy down at the marina." Gunn said. "We should head down there and ask if we can borrow his boat."

"Good idea." Buffy glanced at Connor. "Connor and I'll drive in my car."

"We'll follow you."

* * *

"You lied to them." Connor said once they were in the car. "You told them we were following leads."

"Connor, if they knew that it was you…. What do you think they would've done?" Buffy asked.

"Helped us."

"No. They would've thrown you out for what you did to Angel."

"Why didn't you?"

"Because I know you were angry and confused and you didn't know what you were doing."

"Yes I did."

"Connor, please."

"Are you angry with me?"

Buffy looked at him for a moment. "A little." He looked down at his lap. "But I understand that you didn't know everything. Holtz didn't want you to know everything. And I'm not even sure _he_ knew everything. He couldn't have known everything because he had a vendetta against your father and he was only looking for any possible way he could hurt Angel. He chose you because Angel loved you more than himself. You were his little boy. You were his son…. Are. You _are_ his son."

"Do you love me, Buffy?"

She glanced at him and saw in his face a desperation to be loved. "Yes, Connor. I do love you."

"It's not because I'm Angel's son?"  
"I didn't know you were Angel's son when I met you."

"You loved me when you met me?"

"I guess. How else can I explain giving you a place to live when I didn't even know you?"

Connor smiled at Buffy, but she didn't see it. She also didn't see the meaning behind it. She had meant she loved him like he was her little brother…. Or even as if he were her son. But Connor had taken it as she loved him and wanted to be with him.

* * *

Fred and Gunn were looking for Gunn's friend while Buffy and Connor walked along the pier looking at all the boats. They hadn't offered to help because they didn't know who they were looking for. Buffy wished she owned a yacht. It would've been nice to take a cruise whenever she wanted to.

"Buffy?"

She turned to see Wesley standing on a boat about 10 feet away. "Wesley!?"

"What are you doing here?" He saw Connor standing next to her. "With him?"

"We're searching for Angel. Gunn and Fred…."

"You know about Angel?"  
"Yeah."  
"And do you know how he ended up at the bottom of the ocean?"

"Yeah, I do."

Wesley raised an eyebrow. "He's helping you? This a new trick."

"He's not like that anymore. And what exactly are you doing here? I didn't know you'd gotten into fishing."

"I'm searching for Angel. I have been for the last month or so and I'm close to finding him."

"How?"

He motioned for them to follow him on board. Connor helped Buffy onto the deck and then followed. Wesley led them inside the boat and into the wheel room where he had a red-headed woman chained up. "I've had some help."

"Justine?" Connor said.

"Steven!" Justine smiled. "Come on, kid. Knock these fools out and let's get out of here."

"You're Justine?" Buffy asked. She hauled the woman to her feet and then backhanded her hard into the wall. "What you did to Angel… to Connor…. It makes you worse than any monster I've ever killed. If you weren't helping Wesley find Angel, I'd send you straight to hell."

"Who are you?" Justine asked.

"She's someone you don't want to piss off…. Any more than you already have, that is." Wesley said.

"I'm coming with you." Buffy said to Wesley. "I'm going to help you find him." She turned to Connor. "Tell Gunn and Fred to go home."

"Why?"

"Tell them they'll never find Angel without sonar. That'll get them looking for a sonar machine and by the time they find one, we'll be on the ocean looking for Angel."

"Don't leave without me."

"I want you to go too."

"What? No!"

"Connor, just trust me ok? If they start to head out, I need you to stall them."

"Why don't you want them to know that you've found help."

She glanced at Wesley. "They wouldn't understand. Connor, do you trust me?" He nodded. "Then please do this for me."

"Fine." Connor turned and left the boat.

"Ok, let's get out there before he decides to come back."

* * *

Wesley steered the ship across the dark ocean with Buffy standing at his side staring out at the vast darkness.

"So, what's it gonna be tonight, captain?" Justine asked behind them. "Bicycle, old tire, or maybe we'll get real lucky and catch us a nice shopping cart. Here's a wacky thought: why don't you swim down there yourself?"

Wesley ignored her and flipped a switch. After a moment, he said, "No contact. We'll try the next grid." He walked over to a map and made a few markings on it.

"You really think finding Angel is going to change anything?"

"Everything changes."

"Well, I guess anything is better than sitting around in my cage all day with nothing to do but to fill my bucket."

"Perhaps you should have considered that before slitting my throat." He walked back to the wheel.

"You're throat?" Buffy asked quietly. Wesley just nodded.

"The great Wesley Wyndham-Price, the shining beacon of all that's good and pure. But wait, no! That's before he started banging the enemy and keeping slave-girl in his closet." Justine said behind them.

"You were always a slave, Justine. You just couldn't see the chains." Wesley said.

"Thanks, Swami, I'll meditate on that."

"You think she would be disappointed?"

"Who?"

"Your sister." Justine looked away. "That's where it all began, isn't it? Sister murdered by a vampire, consumed by a need of revenge…."

"For justice!"

"Is that what you call it? Turning a son against his father."

"Angel got what he deserved!"

Buffy took a step towards Justine, but Wesley grabbed her arm and held her back. "We all get what we deserve. You and Holtz deserved each other. You two have so much in common. Pain, loss, deep seated lack of anything approaching humor."

"I don't know. We had a few laughs. Getting you to steal Angel's baby, now that was a good one."

"Better than tricking Connor into sinking his father to the bottom of the ocean?" Buffy asked.

"Well, that was worth a couple of yuks, too."

"Not much of a plan though, was it, really? Easy to figure out which door to kick in when Angel went missing. And not much harder to persuade you to betray everything Holtz had given his life for. Not that it was worth very much. Well, you should know. You're the one that ended it." Justine picked up a wrench that was holding down the maps and hauled back to hit the back of Wesley's head. "I'll take away your bucket." She tossed the wrench back on the table.

"Seriously, I'll knock her out and break her jaw in the process so when she comes around, she still won't be able to talk." Buffy said.

Wesley chuckled grimly. "You still love him."

"I always will."  
"And Connor?"

"He showed up in Sunnydale about two months ago. I didn't know who he was at first, but I felt like I knew him. He didn't have anyone or anything, so I took him in. He's a good kid. He's just misguided." Buffy shot a glare at Justine. "I can see why now."

"Don't look at me like that." Justine snapped.

"After we find Angel, I won't stop her from killing you." Wesley said.

"What makes you think she even can? She's just a little girl."

"Your jaw still sore, pumpkin?" Buffy asked sweetly. "Cause I can make you wish that was the only thing that's sore."

Something made a loud "ping" noise. "It's found something. Solid contact. Definitely metallic." Wesley said.

"Probably more junk. Could be anything down there." Justine said.

He looked at Justine. "Better have a look then."


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Buffy watched as Wesley hauled the steel coffin on board the ship. He lit up a blow torch and worked his way through the welds that secured the sidebars. As soon as he was finished, Buffy helped yank them out and then lifted the heavy lid off by herself. Justine's eyes went wide at the show of strength. Wesley moved in with cable cutters and snapped off the steel cables holding Angel.

"Congratulations. You're the big hero. Maybe your friends will throw you a party. I wonder what the cake's gonna look…." Justine was cut off when Angel's hand shot up and clutched Wesley's neck tightly.

Buffy jumped in and gently gripped Angel's wrist. He looked over at her and his eyes softened with instant recognition. She smiled gently at him and his hand let go of Wesley's neck and slid down into hers. He looked awful. He was paler than usual and his skin was cracked slightly. Buffy almost sobbed at the sight of him. She gently stroked his cheek with her free hand and grasped his hand with her other.

"Let's get him below deck." Wesley said. "He needs to feed." Buffy looked up at him. "I have blood down there."

Buffy nodded and helped Wesley carry Angel down below. He laid him on a table and started pulling out jars.

"Blood?" Justine asked.

"Animal." Wesley said. He lifted Angel's head to drink the liquid.

"What's the hurry? It's not like he's going anywhere."

"A vampire can exist indefinitely without feeding, but the damage to the higher brain functions from prolonged starvation can be catastrophic." Angel choked on the blood and Buffy couldn't take it.

"Move." She took the blood from Wesley and set it down. She climbed up on the table and lifted Angel up and then back to rest on her chest. Wesley handed her the jar and she held it to Angel's lips. "Slowly."

"All the energy you've wasted to save that thing." Justine said. "For what? A happy ending? Everything like it was? He hates you. They all do. And they're never going to take you back." She looked at Buffy gently holding and feeding Angel with all her love for him evident. "And her?"

"She's a Slayer and she loves Angel."

"Wesley?" Buffy asked. "Call Gunn and Fred and let them know you found Angel and we're bringing him home." He nodded. Buffy fed Angel the blood and set the empty jar back down.

"That's disgusting." Justine said from her corner where she was chained up.

"Obviously you've never been in love."

"That's what's so disgusting. You love that thing."

"He's not a thing."

Angel relaxed back into her and smelled her hair. After a long moment, he murmured, "You're not real."

"I'm real."

"Nothing's real. This isn't real." He looked across the room. "Why is it like this?" Buffy gently caressed the side of his head, running her fingers through his hair. "Life should be beautiful and bright. But, no matter how hard I try, everything I touch turns to ashes." He glanced at her. "Even her. She's so beautiful and I hurt her."

"Angel…."

"How is he?" Wesley asked, coming down the stairs.

"He's so out of it. He doesn't know what he's saying."

"He won't shut up." Justine said.

"I have to stop him." Angel said.

"Angel?" Wesley asked.

"I have to do it." He tried to get up, but Buffy pulled him back.

"You need to rest." She said into his ear.

Angel looked up at Wesley, but he wasn't looking at him, he was looking past him. "I should've killed you."

Justine started laughing. "And me without my camera!"

"He's been down there too long. Pig's blood isn't enough. He needs more substantial nourishment." Wesley said.

"Like what?" Wesley pulled out a knife and looked at Justine. "Oh, screw you. I'm not feeding that thing."

"Your blood's too thin." He started to cut his arm, but Buffy stopped him.

"Your blood's too thin too." She said, taking the knife from him.

"Are you sure?"

"It wouldn't be the first time."

Wesley smiled slightly. "No, it wouldn't be, would it? I suppose your blood is better than anybody's."

"Why?" Justine asked.

Wesley unchained her and yanked her up the stairs, shutting the door behind them. Buffy helped Angel off the table and down to the floor where he could rest comfortably with his head in her lap. She took the knife and slit across her wrist, being careful not to accidentally kill herself. Angel's eyes registered the smell of the blood and his eyes turned yellow, but his face didn't change. She placed her bleeding wrist to his mouth and he gripped it, sucking hard at her blood. After a long moment, he let go of her wrist and drifted off to sleep, holding on to her waist and burying his head in her stomach. She felt drowsy from the loss of blood and drifted off to sleep herself, her arms protectively around Angel.

* * *

When Buffy woke up, she and Angel were in the backseat of a car. The car was moving and Wesley was at the wheel. She looked down at her wrist and saw that it had been bandaged. She looked over at Angel and smiled. He was almost back to his normal color and looking out the window as he held her hand. The car stopped and Buffy looked out, realizing they were at the Hyperion.

Wesley got out and opened her door. "Oh, you're awake."

She nodded. "Yeah."

"How are you feeling?"

"Sleepy."

"He took a lot."

"Not as much as last time." She let go of Angel's hand and he snapped out of it enough to look over at her. "Angel, come on." Wesley went around to the other side and helped Angel out of the car. Buffy followed behind on shaky legs and then took Angel's arm and helped Wesley hold him up as they walked to the doors.

Fred and Gunn rushed out of the lobby. "I believe you're looking for this."

"Angel!" Fred gasped. Gunn walked up and helped Buffy get Angel to the settee. "Oh my god!"

"Is he going to be all right?" Gunn asked.

"In time." Wesley said as Angel dropped to the settee and pulled Buffy down with him.

"He's so out of it."

"Oh god."

"He's ok."

"Look at him!"

"It's gonna be ok."

"What do we do?" Fred asked, but Wesley was backing out of the doors. "Where're you going?"

"I'm done here." Wesley said.

"What took you so long to tell us about Connor?" Gunn asked.

"You knew what he could do to us." Fred said.

"You're human. He wouldn't have hurt you. I thought you were safer not knowing."

"We were safer? You really don't care anymore, do you?"

Wesley turned. "He'll need more blood." With that, he walked out.

Gunn turned and glared at Buffy gently taking care of Angel. "Did you know what Connor had done?"

"Yes." Buffy said.

"And you didn't tell us?"

"Why would I? So you could get mad at him? Yell at him? Tell him how awful he is?"

"And then some!"

"That's not what he needs."

"And I suppose you know."

"I know he needs love, not anger and hate. Where is he?" Gunn glared at her. "Where's Connor?" There was a noise, like wood cracking, from inside the office. Buffy glared at Gunn and stood up. "Angel needs clothes." She rushed into the office and found Connor tied to a chair. He was struggling against his bindings and had managed to break the chair at his feet and get out of those.

"Buffy!" Connor cried.

"Oh, Connor. I'm sorry. I didn't know they would do this to you. Are you ok?" She helped him untie his bindings.

He stood up and rubbed his wrists. "It's ok. I know." His eyes ticked behind her to the doorway.

Buffy turned around and looked at Angel. "So, how was your summer? Mine was fun. Saw some fish. Went mad with hunger. Hallucinated a whole bunch." He said.

"Angel…."

He sighed. "Listen, Wesley told me everything. I was planning to get all mad at you and maybe yell, but…. Buffy's right. So, I'm going to be reasonable and talk to you civilly." Connor nodded. "What you did to me was unbelievable, Connor. But then I got stuck in a hell dimension by Buffy one time for a hundred years, so three months under the ocean actually gave me perspective. Kind of a M. C. Esher perspective but I did get time to think. About us, about the world. Nothing in the world is the way it ought to be. It's harsh, and cruel. But that's why there's us. Champions. It doesn't matter where we come from, what we've done or suffered, or even if we make a difference. We live as though the world was what it should be, to show it what it can be. I don't know why you ran away, but I'm glad you did. Buffy's done a good job helping you become a part of that world. I can already see a difference in you."

"I'm sorry." Connor said.  
"I'm not going to forgive you yet. Just because you've had a couple of months to think it over doesn't make it all ok. I'm still very angry with you." He suddenly realized how weak his body was and his legs gave out on him.

Buffy caught him and held him up. He looked down into her eyes and held her gaze for a long moment. "Hey there stranger."

"Hi."

Angel smiled, still holding on to Buffy. She smiled, trying to fight back a yawn. "Come on. You need sleep and I need help getting up those stairs."

Buffy giggled and nodded. "Ok."

Connor watched them go, feeling an angry knot form in his stomach. They had both been there and then they had held each other and then they weren't there anymore. He felt like Angel had just taken away another thing he loved. He tried to remind himself that Angel hadn't killed Holtz. He tried to remind himself that Angelus had killed Holtz's family, not Angel. But he had been taught those lessons for 18 years. It was hard not to feel anger towards Angel.

* * *

"Thank you." Angel said. He was lying on his side in his bed, facing Buffy who was lying on her side facing him.

"I didn't know he was your son until a week or so ago." She said. "I just thought he was a kid who was all alone in the world."

"It doesn't matter what you thought. You've helped him."

"Are you doing ok?"

"I'm tired. I feel weak. But your blood…." He trailed off, feeling guilty that he had fed from her again.  
"My blood was what you needed. It's more potent than anything Wesley was offering."

"How've you been?"

"Lonely. Willow…. She's in England with Giles and the Coven getting better. Dawn is…."

"What's wrong with Willow?"

Buffy was surprised to remember that he didn't know about Willow. "Tara was killed and Willow went back on the magicks with a vengeance. She went evil. Sucked up all the magick books and went after those three annoyances I told you about. She killed the one that shot Tara and me."

"You were shot?"

"And dying. Willow saved me before she went totally over the edge." Buffy paused. "And then tried to kill me herself." She sighed. "Giles took her to England to meet with a coven that he knows to put her through magick rehab."

"How did you stop her?"

"I didn't. Xander did."

"I'd laugh and hit you playfully if I wasn't so out of it."  
"I'm serious. I saw the whole thing. He got to her. He made her feel again. He's really proud of himself."

"I bet."

"What about Dawn?"

"She's in Europe with our dad. He's living in Spain now."

"You didn't go with her?"

"I still can't forgive him for not being there when mom…. He didn't even call until after I had died."

"When will she be back?"

"In two weeks."

"Would you…. I'd like you to stay here until then."

"Why?"

"I missed you."

"What about Cordelia? What happened to her?"

Angel was getting ready to tell her that they were meeting on the bluffs to talk, but something stopped him. He felt like he was betraying Buffy by loving Cordelia. He didn't want her to walk out of his life with his son because of it. "She disappeared the same night I did. I thought Connor…."

"He didn't."

"I know that now. He was just after me."  
"If you'll let me, I'll help you look for her." She smiled. "Two superheroes are better than one, right?" She yawned.

"Sleep, Buffy. We'll start looking for Cordy tomorrow."


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Fred and Angel were talking while packing up Cordelia's apartment. Gunn was in the other room working on the TV while Buffy and Connor helped pack.

"Smell anything?" Fred asked.

"Cordelia." Angel said. "Maybe some old incense or candles. And strangely enough lemons. Lots and lots of lemons."

"I might have gone a little nuts with the floor polish. Wanted the place to look nice for when the landlords start showing it."

"It does. Look nice. Nice and empty."

"You should've seen the size of the dust-bunnies under Cordy's bed. More like dust sperm whales!"

"I can't believe it's been almost three months."

"We paid the rent for the first couple, but then things got sorta tight, and, well, big apartment, no one living here…."

"Phantom Dennis! Does-does he know anything about Cordy, where she might be?"

"He's just ticked we haven't brought her home already."

"We will, though. Soon."

"Absolutely." Fred walked into the living room to continue packing and Angel followed. He watched Buffy for a minute, relishing in her nearness to him for just a moment. She looked over at him and he looked away with a slight smile. He cleared his throat and said, "You said you already tried talking to Lorne in Las Vegas."

"Yeah." Gunn said. "Emphasis on the word _try_." He shocked himself on the television, hurting his hand. "Fancy-ass surround sound. Fred!"

"Already packed the band-aids, buddy." Fred said. She looked at Angel. "From the exactly twice we've been able to get a hold of him, we know that Lorne is keeping his eyes peeled, but so far all's quiet on the psychic front."

"Did you show him the box?"

"See that one, with the pictures? That stuff was on the table the night Cordy disappeared. It's mostly personal stuff. Didn't mean much to us, but you might see something."

Angel flipped through the items in the box. He found a picture of him and Cordelia and quickly shoved it back in the box and glanced at Buffy to make sure she hadn't seen it. "What about the police?" He asked.

"Uh, let's see. Abandoned car. Empty apartment." Gunn said.

"No signs of violence. No plans for travel." Fred said.

"Please file a missing person's report."

"And have a nice day."

"But, hey! That was only the first time. The next seven times, they left out the nice day part."

"Something must've happened to her that night. Something big." Angel said.

"Well, you guys were supposed to meet up."

Angel glanced sharply at Gunn and then smiled at Buffy. He was trying desperately to hide the fact that he had fallen for Cordelia. "I know why I wasn't there." He said quietly.

"Sure. Banished to the ocean depths by your ungrateful snot of a son." Fred said under her breath. Connor heard it, but tried to ignore it. Buffy rubbed his shoulder, but he sighed and walked outside. She looked over at Angel as Fred took the last three books off the mantel and packed them in a box without noticing Connor's reaction.

Angel walked over to Buffy. "I appreciate you looking out for Connor all summer."

"It really was no problem, Angel." Buffy said. "He just needs time and attention and love. That's all."

"Right." Fred muttered. "Time, and some corporal punishment with a large heavy mallet. Not that I'm bitter."

"Seriously, you guys are way to harsh on him. He's not a bad kid. He was just seriously misguided."

"It's hard not to be harsh when you think about what he did to Angel."

"I know what he did and I've put it past me. He's confused and scared and you aren't helping him by muttering things behind his back, which, by the way, he can hear just as well as I can, and acting like he's the geek in high school."

Fred sighed and looked back at the mantel. The three books she had just packed had reappeared on the mantel again. "Oh. Damn it, Dennis! She's not coming back!" She paused, catching herself. "I'm sorry, Angel. I-I didn't…. I meant the apartment. I…."

"It's ok, Fred. Anyway, we've got tons of room back at the hotel. We can keep everything safe." Angel said.

"It's just, you count on stuff, you know. Things being where you left them. What happens if you get back and they're not there?"

"You go find 'em."

"Can I suggest a place to start?" Buffy asked.

* * *

The factory was dimly lit, and there were pipes everywhere, connecting to each other like some kind of industrial system. It was noisy, like machines were running in the background. Wesley and some others were there fighting a demon. Wes was barking orders to the others.

"Jones, Brownstreet left flank!"

During the fighting, a battle-axe slipped out of someone's hands and slid across the floor. Angel stepped on it and addressed Wesley. "Need help?"

Just then, Wesley sliced the head and shoulders off of the demon he was fighting. Wes was dirty, exhausted, and covered in blood and sweat. "No thanks." He bent down to search the demon's body, and found a motel key. "So, Mr. O'Leary's being kept in a motel. How original." He tossed the key to his cohorts. "Free him. Report to base. Have Diana close out the file. Hawkins, back of my car." The guys fighting alongside Wes left.

"Running your own game now, huh?" Angel asked. Wes stood, staring deadpan at Angel. "I never got the chance to thank you. Finding me. Bringing me up." Wes walked away and Angel followed, leaving Buffy standing over the axe. "Must've been hard for you. No map. All that water. Look what…. what went down between us…. I had a lot of time down there to think. You know, about the way things went, the way they could've gone. I just want you to know, as far as I'm concerned, we're ok again." Wesley picked up a chrome briefcase, opened it, and handed Angel a file from it. "What's this?"

"What you came for. That's everything I have on Cordelia's disappearance."

Angel flipped through the thick file and Buffy walked up beside him. There was a picture of Cordy's Jeep, and a map of the area, with areas highlighted. "Did your own investigation?"

"I don't think she's dead. I can't say for certain, of course, but I don't believe she's in our dimension any longer. Beyond that…. was a road I couldn't follow. No living thing can."

Still flipping through the file, Angel came across a print of a winged creature, labeled DINZA.

"Who's Dinza?"

"One of the Eleusian mysteries. A dark demi-goddess of the lost."

"Only the dead can enter her presence." Buffy said. "And the ones that do, she tends to trap for all eternity."

"Sounds cheery." Angel said.

"How did you know that?" Wesley asked Buffy.

She shrugged. "Done a lot of reading in the last couple of years."

"That's very…."

"Shocking? Yeah. Not a lot to do after you've died and come back. Nothing really holds your interest."

Wesley smiled slightly. "I managed to locate her lair, but obviously couldn't enter myself."

"This Dinza can tell me where Cordy is." Angel said.

"No. The most she'll tell you is where to look. Just beware. Dinza isn't remotely trustworthy." Wesley closed the briefcase and walked off.

"What should I do, then? Send her a gift? Sacrifice? Unholy fruit basket?"

* * *

Buffy stood next to Angel's car, leaning against the hood. He was down in the sewers with Dinza. Buffy was on the phone with Connor who was waiting for her back at the Hyperion. "Everything's fine."

"When are you coming back?" Connor asked.

"When Angel gets the answers he's looking for. That pretty much depends on how chatty Dinza's feeling and how peckish Angel gets if she's not chatty. So, probably in the next two hours."

Connor laughed. "When are we going back to Sunnydale?"  
"I don't know. I didn't even know you wanted to go back."

"I don't like it here. Fred and Gunn are mean to me and Angel acts weird around me. Everybody acts weird around me except you."

"Connor, they're just not…. used to you."

"No, they're mad at me about what I did to Angel."

"Of course they are. It really upset them. You also ran away for two and half months. That doesn't exactly help the trust there."

"They don't trust me?"

"I don't think they do."

"Do you trust me?"  
"Of course I do."

"Even though I lied to you about who I was?"

"You didn't lie to me about who you _are_. You just didn't tell me and I didn't ask."

"Isn't that lying?"  
"No. Lying is saying something not true. You omitted part of your life story. It just makes you a bad story teller."

Connor laughed for a minute. "I'm glad I found you, Buffy."

"Me too. Hey, are you hungry? I can get Angel to stop on the way home and get food."

"Sure."

"You like chicken, right?"

"Well, it's the only thing you can actually make that you don't burn, so we've eaten it a lot in the last two months. I think I like chicken."

Buffy laughed. "Really? I hadn't noticed. And here I thought I was making gourmet meals for you. Wait till you try steak."

"And chocolate and peanut butter." Angel said behind her.

Buffy turned and looked at him. "Hey Connor, I'll see you in a little bit."

"With food?" Connor asked.  
"With food." She said, hanging up her phone. "He's hungry."

Angel smiled. "You cooked for him?"

"I've dabbled in cooking for him. There's a difference. We've been living on mostly delivery or take out food because I mostly burn everything I cook."

"You'll get it down."  
"So, what did you find out?"

* * *

"The Axis of Pythia." Fred was standing in front of a presentation easel giving Angel, Buffy, Connor, and Gunn a briefing. Gunn was sitting down, watching her. Angel was in the back of the room, concentrating on an artist's sketchpad, using Buffy's back as a support while he drew. Buffy sat in front of Angel, Indian-style, and watched Fred flip the chart, to show a simplistic drawing labeled _The Axis of Ptyhia_. Connor sat on the stairs, watching everyone else. "Forged from the tripod of the Delphic oracle, the Axis, a metal arch set into a marble base, stands approximately two feet high and weighs 18 pounds."

Angel handed Gunn a sketch of the Axis that was highly detailed, complete with symbols etched into the metal arch after he showed it to Buffy. "Here. To give you an idea."

"Wow." Gunn said.

"Is that…. You didn't draw that?" Fred asked.

"Huh? Yeah, I just, you know, scribbled it down out of one of the books."

"Oh. Nice."

"You should see some of the drawings he made for me." Buffy said.

"You still have them?" Angel asked.

Buffy smiled back at him. "Of course I still have them."

Fred went back to her flip chart, and flipped to the next simplistic drawing. It was labeled _Mystical Qualities_ and the chart had a little simple drawing of a ghost, saying 'Boo.' "Um, the Axis is said to have been imbued with many mystical qualities, one of which is finding souls or entities across dimensions."

Angel held up another sketch from his pad. It was a skillful, detailed drawing of a smiling Cordelia. "Entities, like…."

"Cordelia." Gunn said.

"Wow. That's just…." Fred said.

"Nothing compared to the ones I've got." Buffy said. She smiled when she saw Angel blush. "I didn't vampires could do that."

"What?" Angel asked.

"Blush." He did it again.

"Oh, hey, baby." Gunn said. "I liked your little…. your ghost guy."

"I haven't slept, Charles." Fred snapped.

"So, we need the Axis. How do we get it?"

Fred went back to her chart and flipped to the next page. It showed a simple drawing of the front of a building that was labeled _Chandler_. "Currently, the Axis is being held in the vault of Chandler's Auction House, an establishment firmly rooted in the black market. Black market means money. Money means security."

Angel stood up, holding a tube of rolled up papers, the size of blueprints. "But not to worry, 'cause I beat the building plans out of a snitch who thought I was dead."

"The building plans are only half of it. Just because we know where it is, doesn't mean we can get to it." Fred flipped the chart again to show a list labeled _Security Devices_. The boys proceed to read off the list.

"Surveillance cameras. Electric gates." Gunn read.

"Laser sensors. Handprint Recognition." Angel said.

"Not to mention armed guards." Fred said.

"Yeah, but if it's an auction house, can't we just, you know, E-Bay it? How much is it?" Gunn took a sip of coffee.

"33 million dollars."

Gunn choked on his coffee when Angel and Fred said the price. "I think my lungs….have coffee."He walked off to recover.

"We're still working on a plan, but so far, it involves being sent to prison and becoming somebody's bitch." Fred said.

"Nobody's going to jail, Fred." Angel said. "I told you, a heist like this, I've done it a million times." They looked at him. "Ok, maybe twice, but I'm good at it, I swear."

"Like the last one?" Buffy asked.

"The one time we stole the crazy-making death shroud that nearly killed us right?" Gunn asked.

"No. The one where we were trying to steal this box of doom to stop the Ascension."

"And you got stuck in the wires." Angel said with a laugh.

"_You_ got me stuck in the wires."

"And then we got caught."

"With my poor self just kind of dangling there."

"And you were doing those cool moves on the wires….."

"The point is, this is how we find Cordy, so this is what we're gonna do." Fred said. She grabbed rolled up papers from Angel. "I'm just gonna take these and go over the details and see if I can, I don't know, whip something up…. Say, a plan. Ok." She walked off with Angel's building plans and her flip chart.

"I'm really strong, if that helps." Angel called.

"Ok."

"Me too." Buffy said. "And flexible."

"Ok."

"That's my girl." Gunn said. "Large and in charge. Ok, teensy-weensy and in charge."

"It's amazing how she stepped up when I was gone. Kinda reminds me of Cordy." Angel said.

"Angel, say we use this Axis thing to find her. What then?"

"Then, we do whatever it takes to get her back home, where she belongs."

"Ok, so what are we gonna need for Operation Chance In Hell?"

"Hmm. I can only guess. Probably some repelling hooks. Flashlights, obviously. Aerosols. What else?"


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Buffy followed Angel around his room as he got ready for their "mission." "Seriously, I think it should be just you, me, and Connor on this."

"Why?" Angel asked.

"We both know that high-danger situations can lead to serious bonds between people. And we both know that you and Connor need to develop a bond." Angel looked at her. "Besides, your friends are only human and this requires some superhuman finesse."

He sighed. "I just don't think Connor's ready for this."

"I do. Angel, I've been working with him for over a month. He's good. He said you trained him a little before and he was already an experienced fighter before that. Honing his skills is what I want to focus on."

"What if he messes up?"

"He won't. He's too much like his father."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means that when he wants something done, he's stubborn and refuses to do anything less than perfect. He won't mess up."

"What about Fred and Gunn?"

"Why are you asking me?"

"This is your plan now."

"Then they stay behind. They're nice people, but we both know that they'll slow us down and possibly even get us in trouble."

"We need Fred."

"Why?"

"So she can tap into the cameras and erase us from sight."

"She can tell me what to do. I'll even take notes so I won't forget."

"What if you mess it up?"

"I won't. And if I'm not sure, I'll call her."

Angel stared at her for a moment. Finally he relented. "Fine. I'll tell Gunn and Fred to stay behind and have Fred make you up some instructions."

"I'll tell them. You go tell your son he gets to come on a real mission with us."

Angel groaned, but didn't argue. He put his shirt on and Buffy handed him his coat before they walked out and went in their respective ways.

* * *

Buffy, Connor, and Angel climbed the side of the Chandler building fast and were at the roof in no time. Angel went to the wiring box labeled _Access Control Systems_ and ripped off the door to the box. He didn't know which wire was which, so he pulled them all out, causing the building to lose electricity. Buffy went to the roof access door and used a special device that Fred had given her that when inserted it simulated a key and unlocked the door. The light turned green and they all entered the building.

Angel led the way to the stairs and they worked their way down to the basement levels. He spread out the blueprints and clicked on a little flashlight. "She said thirty yards west and this is the junction."

"All right then." Buffy said. "I guess I'll be in here trying to hack into the vault's security system." She pointed to a spot on the blueprints.

"Connor, you…."

"Secure the escape route and the guard's station." Connor finished.

"Disarm and contain. Don't kill them."

"He knows." Buffy said. "Angel…."

"I hit the vault, wait for system shutdown, then steal the Axis."

"So, let's get to it." Buffy turned and headed in her direction and Angel and Connor did the same. She followed the route they'd mapped out and walked into the room to do her end of the deal. "This should be fun." She was looking at a room full of wires and machines and no clue what to make of it. After a minute of panic, Buffy pulled out the sheet Fred had written and got to work.

* * *

Connor moved quietly through the building, looking for any guards. He had already found two and knocked them, stuffing them in a broom closet. They didn't even have time see his face. He came to the guard station at the front and found another guard up there.

"Look out!" He punched guard hard, just knocking him out. "Tried to warn ya." He was proud of his little quip and couldn't wait to tell Buffy about it. With a small smile playing at his lips, he dragged the guard out of the room.

* * *

Buffy was typing away at a computer terminal, following Fred's instructions exactly. The monitor suddenly started flashing a big red error message at her.

"Vault Electrical Monitor. System Interference. Malfunction?" Buffy shook her head and looked at the paper again. "I did everything right you dumb machine!" She read over the paper twice and then it dawned on her. "I haven't even gotten into the electrical system, so that means…. Oh crap."

She jumped up and ran out of the room.

* * *

Connor carried the guard he had punched into a back room closer to the lobby, only to find there were four other guards there, bound, gagged, and passed out.

"I didn't knock those guys out." He said to himself. "Uh…. I think we've got company." He dropped the guard in with the others and ran off to find Buffy.

* * *

Buffy and Connor ran in. "Where's the party crasher?" Buffy asked.

"In there. She's after the Axis." Angel said.

"She?" Connor asked. "As in she took out the four armed guards downstairs and she's not a Slayer or a vampire?"

"That's good to know."

The woman walked out of the vault, carrying a bag with the Axis in it. "So long, handsome."

"Listen, I need the Axis. It's an ancient mystical relic…."

"It's fun for a girl and a boy. I like to think of it as…. mine."

"Please."

"Please? Are you kidding me?" She noticed Buffy and Connor. "Hey there, Barbie and Ken."

"I'm trying to find someone. Someone very important to me, and the Axis there, it's my only shot."

"He's telling the truth." Buffy said.

"Oh, well, golly, if you say it's true…." The woman mocked. "So what? You just wanna borrow this thing?"

"You can do whatever you want with it, as soon as I find her." Angel said.

"Her? Of course it's 'her.' Two questions, then. One: do you really love her?"

Angel looked at Buffy guiltily and then back at the woman. "Yeah, I do."

"Two: on a scale of one to ten, exactly how stupid do you think I am?" She stepped back to the rope to climb out, but as she did, Buffy reached over and tripped the security system causing loud alarms to ring out through the building. "Don't answer that."

"Way to go, Buffy." Angel said. The gate started to lift, as the woman climbed up the rope. Buffy slid under the gate and grabbed her by the legs.

"Let go!" She pushed Buffy away with her bare hand, causing a shock.

Buffy let out a yelp and flew back. Connor and Angel dove over to her and realized there was something wrong when she didn't get back up. Angel felt Buffy's neck. She had no pulse.

"Buffy!" Angel grabbed her up and shook her. "Wake up, Buffy. Come on."

"Buffy?" Connor tried to push Angel away, but Angel wouldn't let her go.

"Don't do this to me. Not again. Not now."

"Move!" The woman went to Buffy and shocked Angel, knocking him down. She kicked Connor away and bent down. She touched Buffy's chest, shocking it. "Just like starting a Chevy." Buffy gasped. "There we go."

Connor picked the woman up off of Buffy and threw her against a wall. She kicked him and Connor went to attack, but Angel's voice stopped him.

"Connor." He turned to his father. "We've gotta get her to a hospital." Angel picked Buffy up in his arms and he and his son rushed out of there.

* * *

Buffy sat in Angel's bed and watched Connor move around. "Can I get you anything else?"

"I'm ok, Connor." Buffy said.

"Are you sure? I mean, my father always said that soup helped when a person was sick. But you weren't sick. You were dead. So I don't think soup will work…."

"Connor." She stood up and gripped his arms. "Connor. I'm ok. It's really not the first time I've died."

"I know, but…. I was there." She smiled. "You should be in bed." He forced her back to the bed. "The doctor said you needed to rest."

"The doctor doesn't know that I've died twice before _and_ that I'm a Slayer _and_ that I heal really quickly." She smiled up at Connor. "Really. I'm fine."

"You need to take your pills. Where did you put them?"

"I threw them away."

"Why? You need those."

"No, I don't." There was a knock on the door. "Come in."

Gunn opened the door and helped Fred balance a tray as they walked in the room. "We brought soup and some water." Fred said.

"How are you?" Gunn asked.

"Really, I'm totally fine." Buffy protested.

"Are you sure soup will help?" Connor asked. "She's not sick. She died."

Gunn shrugged. "Soup helps everything." He smiled at Buffy. "You like chicken noodle, right?"

Buffy groaned and sat back on the pillows. "I can't win!" Fred set about arranging the tray on the other side of the bed so nothing would spill while Gunn fluffed Buffy's pillows.

"Sorry about the pillows." Gunn said. "Angel's not one for spending a ton of money on good ones."

"Where is he?"

"Angel? He said he had some business to do and he'd be back in a couple of hours. I think he managed to find a way to get the Axis from Electro-Shockette."

"Did he say when he'd be back?"

"You shouldn't worry." Connor said suddenly. "You need to rest."

"We'll just leave this here." Fred said, finishing with the tray. "Call us if you need anything." Gunn and Fred backed out of the room.

Connor kissed Buffy's forehead. "I'll be downstairs if you need anything. Get some rest, ok?"

Buffy sighed and watched them go. She rested her head on the pillows and breathed in Angel's scent. Before she knew it, she had drifted off to sleep. When she woke up, Angel was there moving the tray quietly so he could lay down.

"Angel?" Buffy asked.

"Hey. I didn't wake you, did I?" He asked, setting the tray down.

"No. Did you get the Axis?"

"Yeah."

"And?"

"We found Cordy."

"You did!? Where is she? How is she?"

"She's a higher being. She was so…. When I saw her…. She felt happy. It felt like she was home."

Buffy laughed. "I'm sorry. A higher being? We're talking about Cordelia, right?"

Angel looked at her. "She was different, Buffy. She wasn't the same Cordelia you knew in high school…. and after she first moved here. The visions made her…. Grow up."

"I'm sorry. I know she was your friend."

"It's ok. You weren't here. I never expected you to know what she was like now." He scooted onto the bed next to her and leaned against the headboard since Buffy had all the pillows. "Listen, I thought maybe, only if you feel up to it that is…. I thought maybe we could take a trip."

Buffy looked over at him. "Take a trip where?"

"Vegas." She laughed. "What?"

"You in Vegas!"

"Well, Lorne's there. And besides, we've been so busy looking for Cordelia, we haven't had any time to catch up on things. I thought a few nights in Vegas would do us some good."

"Us?"

Angel blushed slightly and managed to stammer, "I-I-I meant by-by us…. You know, you and me…. And-and Connor…. A-a-a-a-and, you know, Gunn and Fred."

Buffy laughed. "Angel, what's gotten into you? You're acting like a nerd asking a cheerleader out."

He shook his head. "I don't know. Haven't I always acted this way around you?"

She was still laughing. "No."

Angel chuckled. "I thought you'd say yes to soften the blow."

"Why?"

"I don't know. It's just… After all this time…. You're even more beautiful than you were before. And I feel closer to you again because I…. you let me drink from you again."

"You were in trouble. I didn't even have to think twice."

"I know." He shrugged. "I just guess I missed you more than I thought."

Buffy smiled. "So, Vegas?"

He smiled back, glad to be off the topic of his feelings. "We can go somewhere else if you don't want to go to Vegas."

"No. Vegas is fine. The last time I was there I wasn't old enough to do any of the fun things." She smiled wickedly. "Think of the adult fun I could have now."

Angel laughed. "Vegas it is then. I can't wait to see what kind of a drunk you are."

Buffy scoffed. "Why, so you can take advantage of me? Take photos or videos that you can use as black-mail later?"

"I would never do that. I'm a gentleman."

"Maybe you were a hundred years ago. But now? You've turned into a typical male. No gentlemanly conduct from you."

"I'm offended."

"No you're not."

He laughed. "No, I guess I'm not." Buffy yawned. "Come on." He pulled her head onto his shoulder, wrapping his arms around her. "Sleep. We'll start planning tomorrow."

Buffy let herself drift off to sleep in Angel's arms, snuggled up on her favorite spot.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Angel drove his black convertible into Las Vegas with Buffy and Connor in the front seat beside him and Fred and Gunn in the backseat. They drove past the Riviera, the Stardust, the Wayne Newton theater, and lots of bright lights. Connor was in complete awe, looking around at everything with his jaw almost resting on his chest.

"Now this is my kind of spiritual retreat." Gunn said.

"I just thought we could all use a little getaway to decompress." Angel said. "I know I haven't had a vacation in a while. Not counting my recent ocean cruise. And Buffy's gotta go back to Sunnydale soon and I haven't really had a chance to see her and you guys haven't gotten a chance to get to know her."

"Yeah, but the reason we're here is to see Lorne, right?" Fred asked.

"Absolutely. Maybe afterwards we can check out that Danny Gans guy we keep seeing billboards for."

"You mean after Lorne reads you to help you get back on your path."

"Yeah, whatever." Angel looked over Buffy's head at his son. "How ya doin' over there Connor?"

"It's so bright." Connor said. "I've never seen anything like it."

Buffy laughed. "Too bad you won't get to see everything."

"Why not?"

"You're not 21."

"What does that have to do with anything?"

"You have to be 21 to drink or gamble or get into those swanky nightclubs you always here the stars are going to."

"Why?"

"Cause the law's stupid."

"Can't I break the law?"

"No! No. No breaking the law. I don't have the money to bail any of us out of jail. I'll take you to a magic show or something."

"Wow. This place sure has changed." Angel said.

"Get out! You never told me you've been to Vegas before." Gunn said.

"Yeah, a few times. Been a while, though. Used to be dunes over there."

"Oh, man, it has been a while. They tore down the Dunes ten years ago."

"Not the casino, I mean actual dunes. Bugsy used to call them bug piles."

"Bugsy? Bugsy Segal?"

"Yeah. Not one with words, I know, but the man…. he had a mean backhand on the tennis court. So what do you guys wanna do first?"

"Um, well, the place Lorne is singing is called the Tropicana." Fred said.

"The Tropicana?" Gunn and Buffy asked.

"As in THE Tropicana?" Buffy asked.

"That can't be right." Gunn said.

"Why not?" Fred and Connor asked.

"Uh, the Tropicana is a pretty high-profile casino, not some low-key out-of-the-way dive. Looking the way Lorne does, he'd have to go some place a little bit more, you know, discreet."

"How discreet, exactly?" Buffy asked. She pointed out at a multi-story, back lit sign in front of the Tropicana. Angel stopped the car to look. On a bright yellow background it read,

"**Exclusive Engagement**

**17th Straight Week  
The Incomparable Song Stylings of  
Lorne**"

Underneath was a picture of Lorne singing and underneath that was a scrolling text box that said,_**LORNE The Green Velvet Fog**_.

Buffy blinked. "I thought he was a demon."

"He is." Angel said.

"So…. They're either all blind or they're all really dumb and think he's a serious character actor that _never_ drops character."

"Guess we'll find out."

"The next show isn't until tomorrow night. We missed the last one for tonight." Fred said, reading from her flyer. "Guess we need to find a place to sleep, right?"

"Yeah, guess so." Angel said.

* * *

They ended up getting two rooms, one of them being a two bedroom suite for Connor, Buffy, and Angel. Connor took the small room with the one bed while Buffy and Angel took the bigger room of the suite with the two queen beds. Later that night, Buffy and Angel sat on the balcony looking out over the Vegas strip. Neither one of them could sleep, so they had gone out onto the balcony to talk. Connor was asleep in his bed in his little room. Angel looked over at Buffy and smiled.

"What?" Buffy asked

"Nothing. It's just…. The way the lights were hitting you…. You looked beautiful."

Buffy laughed. "Nothing like the warm glow of neon lights to make a girl look prettier than she is."

"You've always been beautiful."

"To you."

"Not just to me."

"You have a bias opinion."

"I always will." She blushed. "Ah, I haven't made you blush in a long time."

"You haven't been around."

"You have no idea how many days that go by that I wish I had been." Buffy looked at him sharply. "I didn't mean to say that out loud." She looked away sadly. "I'm never good about talking about my feelings. Especially to you."

"We don't have to." Buffy said quietly. "In fact, let's not ruin this vacation with it, ok? There's too much that we've left unsaid that's too painful to bring up when we're supposed to be trying to relax."

Angel nodded. "Yeah."

"One day soon."

He took her hand and pulled her closer, kissing her knuckles. "One day soon."

* * *

Showgirls were on stage carrying large feathered fans and wearing a pair of red horns in their hair, sporting green skin makeup, and wearing black lace teddies. They were performing a show as the audience applauded. They stood in a circle and put their feathered fans in the center, forming a screen. Lorne emerged from the feathers with a microphone and wearing a sequined blazer. He smiled and the spotlight was put right on him. The girls exited the stage and he was left sitting on a stool on a smoky stage, with LORNE spelled out behind him with laser lights.

Smoothly, he began to sing, "It's not that easy being green. Having to spend each day the color of the leaves. When think it could be nice enough…."

Buffy, Gunn, Connor, Fred, and Angel were sitting a ways back watching the spectacle. Connor was amazed at everything and couldn't bring his eyes to blink. Buffy sat next to Angel and watched Lorne sing.

"He's so good." She said.

"And no one seems to be bothered by the fact that he's a demon." Gunn said.

"They must think it's all make-up, like the Blue Man Group." Fred said. "You don't think the Blue Man Group…."

"Only two of them." Buffy and Angel said.

Lorne finished his song and stood up. A red curtain closed behind him as he addressed the audience. "Thank you! Thank you so much. You know, I gotta tell you folks…. I gotta tell you, you are by far the kickingest crowd that I've had the privilege of performing for here at the Tropicana. Yes! Yes, that's right. That's right. Give it up for your sweet selves. Whoo! All right. Now, you know what, just for you guys, I think it's time we crank things up a notch, what do you say? Huh?" He took off his bow tie and handed it to girl in the front row. "Here you go, honey. Yeah. Maestro, give me some drums, s'il vous plait. Aw, that's it, that's it. Paco, gimme a little bass. Aw, merci, merci. Now all I need is a little help from my Lornettes." He gestured to the girls dancing behind him as the curtain opened. "Hey! Strut it girls! Hey! Come on, baby!"

The Lornettes began to sing "Lady Marmalade."Lorne jumped down off the stage into the aisle and Fred screamed and clapped like an excited fan.

"Whoo!" They all looked at her, a little put off by the sudden outburst. "He's very good." Lorne began to sing and every now and then he would stop and shove the microphone into someone's face so they could sing with him. He made his way around the room and started to slowly make his way towards them. "Oh, here he comes. He's gonna plotz when he sees us."

"Oh, uh-uh." Gunn said. "He better not stick that damn mic in my face."

"Oh, come on, Charles, it's all in fun. Besides, you have a nice voice."

"Yeah, do it if you want, but I'm not in the mood to…."

"He's gone." Angel said.

"What?"

"He just went right by." Fred said.

Gunn looked disappointed. "Oh…. well, good."

"Maybe he didn't see you." Buffy said.

* * *

A security guard was watching the stage exit door, keeping a large crowd of Lorne's fans under control. Buffy, Angel, Connor, Fred, and Gunn were in the crowd, waiting to greet Lorne.

"It was just…. wow! Wasn't it?" Fred said, bubbling with excitement. "I-I mean the laser lights, those Lornette girls, and, hello, 30-piece orchestra!"

"Yeah, but I still don't know why he dissed us during the sing-along." Gunn pouted. "It's just nice to be asked is all."

"I don't know." Angel said. "I thought it was a little over-produced for my taste. It's like I told Sammy Davis at the Sands. When you, Frank, and Dean are the meal, you don't need the trimmings."

"Hold up. You knew the Rat Pack?"

"Who?" Connor asked.

"Famous group of guys back in the swinging 60s when your dad was less known for swinging." Buffy said.

"You knew the Rat Pack?" Gunn asked again.

"Know 'em?" Angel paused, bringing it down a bit. "No. I met 'em once. Twice. For drinks. Maybe it was three times. Hey, you know, I did have a life before you guys came along."

"Really? Cause the way I heard it…." Buffy was cut off by Angel putting his arm around her waist and squeezing.

"I told you why I became like that." He said seriously.

"I know. I was just playing."

Angel smiled. "I know you were."

"So, do you know what you're gonna sing?" Fred asked.

Angel looked over at her as if he were surprised there was anyone else in the room besides him and Buffy. "Sing?"

"For Lorne? So he can read you."

He let go of Buffy. "Hey, you know, we don't have to do that right away. We just got here. Hey, who's up for some blackjack?" Angel started to walk away, but Lorne came out of the stage door and the crowd went wild.

"Hi! Hey, how are you?" Lorne said, signing autographs.

"Lorne. It's us!" Fred called.

"Hey, love ya!"

"We love you t…. Wait. That was him being superficial, wasn't it?"

"W-wait! Hey, Lorne, wait!" Angel called. He started to walk forward, but a guard grabbed him.

"Hold it, pal." The security guards blocked Angel as Lorne walked away down the hall without acknowledging any of his friends. Angel tried to go after Lorne again, thinking maybe he didn't realize they were there, but the guard pushed him away roughly.

"Oh. Easy, ok. I know him. I just want to say hello."

"You and everybody else, pal."

Angel scowled and Buffy pulled him away before he could do anything rash. They headed out into the casino and Fred and Gunn took up a game of blackjack while Angel stood behind them. Buffy and Connor went over to the bar to get drinks for everyone.

"Angel, come on, sit down. Relax. Play a few hands." Gunn said.

"I don't get it." Angel said. "Lorne knows we're here. Why hasn't he contacted us by now?"

"Maybe he's just tired after his performance." Fred said.

"Maybe it's hard to see us common folk from way up on high." Gunn said.

"Huh?"

"Success. Makes you forget the little people."

"Oh, I don't believe that. Not Lorne."

A Lornette walked by and caught Angel's attention.

"You saw the way my man dissed us. It happens." Gunn said. "Hit me."

Angel watched the Lornette go up to Vivian, the girl from Lorne's audience earlier.

"Congratulations." She handed Vivian a green chip that read _Spin To Win_, and the chip glimmered for a moment when it was placed in her palm.

"I don't understand. I won something?" Vivian asked.

"The chance to play our million dollar Spin-To-Win. It's an exclusive game we have here at the casino as a promotion."

"Wow. So I could win a million dollars?"

"Could change your life. Just show the man over there your chip, and he'll admit you into the game room." The Lornette pointed to a guarded door with a life-size cardboard cutout of Lorne with a martini. A text bubble over his head said, "Have to play to win, pussycats," and there was a two-foot diameter chip over his chest that said _Million Dollar Spin To Win_.

"Thank you." Vivian headed off to the game room and the Lornette started to leave.

Angel walked up to her. "Excuse me."

"I'm not a waitress, sir." The Lornette said.

"I know. Uh, you were in the show with Lorne."

"Uh-huh."

"I was just wondering if you can get this note to him for me."

"Oh, I'm sorry. I can't do that."

"It's ok. See, I'm an old friend of his and he'd want to know I was here. If you could just get this note to him for me, I'm sure he would appreciate your help." Angel laid on the charm and smiled flirtatiously. "I know I would."

"I'll see what I can do." She walked away and Angel eyed the guarded door. Then he walked around the casino, watching people. He noticed that people were acting strangely numb, distant, like they were just going through the motions of gambling without enjoying it. People were dropping coins in the slot machines, pressing the button, pulling the lever, and repeating the maneuver very methodically, without so much as a change of expression or position. Sighing, he made his way back towards the blackjack table where Gunn and Fred were talking. Fred had gotten a substantial stack of chips in front of her while Gunn had only one chip left. Buffy and Connor were still at the bar getting drinks.

"Blackjack. Congratulations." The dealer said to Fred.

"I'm feeling really bad about this." Fred said.

"Oh, don't feel guilty, babe. If I had your head for numbers, I'd be counting cards too."

"No, I mean about Lorne acting weird with us."

"The guy's on some old star trip, man. Who needs him?"

"Angel does. I'm worried about him, Charles." She looked back at Angel. "Ok, I know he was right to send Connor away, but with Cordelia gone, the loneliness must be unbearable for him."

"Loneliness? The love of his life is sharing a room with him. They've been together for almost two weeks. So Lorne or no Lorne, I think this trip idea is gonna do Angel a world of good."

"I hope so."

Two red-coated security guards came up to Angel and quietly escorted him out of the casino without Fred or Gunn noticing.

"It's gonna be fine." Gunn said.

"Well, maybe you're right. I just wish we knew what was going on with Lorne."

"Well, let's find out."

"What? Now?"

"If it'll make my honey feel better, put her mind at ease, my fun can wait."

"It's because you're out of chips, isn't it?"

"Yeah."

Buffy and Connor walked up without any drinks. "Where'd Angel go? He was standing right there a second ago."

"Wherever he is, I bet he's having a whole lot better luck than me." Gunn said. "Where're the drinks?"

"They wouldn't let me get them because Connor was going to help me carry them and he's not 21, so they were convinced I was buying them for him." Buffy shook her head. "So, what's going on?"

"We're gonna sneak backstage and see what's going on with Lorne."

"What about Angel?"

Gunn shrugged. "Who knows? You coming?"

"Sure." Buffy and Connor followed Gunn and Fred. They headed back the way they had come earlier and snuck into the hallway just around the corner from the doors to Lorne's dressing room. The guards were talking in the background.

"Man, heads of state don't get this much security." Gunn said. "Something's starting to seem a lot not right about this."

"That's what I've been saying, only with better grammar." Fred said. "Should we find Angel?"

"We're never gonna get past bruisers one and two over there without a fight." Gunn looked at Buffy.

"What?" She asked.

"Well, do your thing."

"What thing?"

"The Slayer thing. Go kick his ass."

"Oh sure, send the girl to do the heavy lifting."

"Take Boy Wonder with you." Buffy rolled her eyes and got ready to walk around the corner. But just as she did, a Lornette walked out of a nearby dressing room, walking past them. Gunn looked down at Fred. "Buffy, wait."

"I'm not dressing like that!" Fred said.

"Why not? You'll get in there no problem and fulfill a fantasy of mine."

"Charles, I am not dressing like a two-bit hooker."

"I'll do it." Buffy said. Both men's eyes snapped to Buffy. "What? I've done worse for answers." She headed over to the dressing room and snuck in.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Buffy walked out of the dressing room dressed as a Lornette and carrying a tray with a martini on it.

"Whoa. What's this? He already got his drink." The first guard said.

Buffy smiled big and pretended to be a blonde ditz. "Yeah he totally did. I know. But I mean, they sent me to…." She smiled again and winked.

"Oh, I get it. A little pre-show diddle for the green guy, huh?"

"You know it big guy."

"She's totally selling it!" Gunn whispered to Fred.

"I can't believe how awesome she looks." Connor said.

"Yeah, I know!" Fred cleared her throat and Gunn looked down at her. "But, you know, you woulda looked just as hot in that outfit." She stared at him. "Hotter."

"Please. I know she looks amazing." Fred said. Both boys stared at her.

"Don't worry sweetheart, the demon, he doesn't bite. Yeah, not with his mouth anyway." The guards laughed. Buffy started to go by them into the room, but the second guard stopped her.

"Wait a minute. You missed a couple of spots on your neck and behind your ear. You might want to fix that before you go out on stage."

"Oh, right! That would've totally been really embarrassing." She smiled brightly and walked into the room.As she walked by him, Lorne swung down at her with an empty bottle. Buffy grabbed his arm and tossed him over her shoulder, making him land on the couch.

"Oh, I'm sorry, peach pie. I thought you just might have been…."

"Your diddle buddy?" Buffy asked.

"My what-le what?"

"Nevermind."

"Where'd you learn that move?"

"I'm the Slayer."

Lorne looked hard at her. "Oh, Buffy? Angel-cakes' Buffy? Oh, hallelujah!" He hugged her tightly. "Oh, sweet cheeks, you don't know the hell I've been through."

Buffy looked around his luxurious suite. "Uh-huh. It looks like real torture."

"Yeah, well it took you heroes long enough to rescue me." He paused. "Wait, did I miss something? Are you and the soulful one back together?"

"It's a long story, but no. Not right now anyway. And as for the you needing rescuing: no one was aware that you needed rescuing."

"Weren't aware? I told Fred."

"When? She didn't say anything."

"Well, every time she called me, I kept asking about Fluffy."

"Who's Fluffy?"

"Fluffy. Fluffy the dog. The dog you don't have. The universally recognized code for 'I'm being held prisoner. Send help!'"

"Oh. Who's holding you prisoner?"

"Oh, the creep who owns this place. Lee DeMarco. Well, he used to be some second-rate lounge magician until he got his hands on something legitimately mystical. Yeah now he's a first-rate psychopath, and he's using me to destroy people's lives."

"Using you how?"

"There's this game."

"The Spin To Win game?"

"How'd you know?"

"I saw Angel checking it out and he had that look on his face. You know the look he gets when he thinks something's wrong and he's making a plan to investigate…." She looked at Lorne. "Sorry. Spin-To-Win. Bad game. Tell me why."

"You can never ever win. The house always wins. And when it does, it takes your destiny with its winnings. They give you a chip and when you touch it, it imprints your destiny on the chip. DeMarco keeps all the destinies he wins with him in his control room."

"How do you stop him?"

"I don't know."

Buffy sighed. "We need to get out of here."

"No kidding. How?"

"Grab something heavy."

"Why?"

Buffy let out a blood-curdling scream and ran for the door. She screamed again and ripped it open, running out into the hall. The guards were on her at once, fretting over why she was screaming.

"Oh my God! It was horrible. He-he attacked me with this mucus that shot out of his horns, and he escaped. He's gone!"

"There's no other way out." The first guard said.

"He went through some sort of a demon metamorphosis thing, and, and he just melted! He melted and he slithered away down the drain in the sink in the bathroom." They just stood there. "Hurry!"

"Security One, we have a Code Green. Repeat: Code Green." The guards ran into Lorne's dressing room to investigate. Gunn, Connor and Fred ran up to Buffy and Lorne snuck out of the dressing room, wearing a long tan raincoat and a black brimmed hat.

"Somebody wanna give me the lowdown?" Gunn asked, grabbing a tasseled tieback off a nearby curtain and tying the doorknobs together.

"Later." Lorne said. "Suffice it to say we're dead if we don't get our fannies out of dodge."

"Good enough." They ran off down the hall with muffled sounds from the dressing room of the guards trying to escape. Buffy threw her demon horns on the ground as she ran away.

"Where's Angel?"

"I don't know." Buffy said, doing her best to wipe the green off her skin. "He disappeared before Connor and I got back to the blackjack table where we left everyone." They ran strode through the casino, trying not to look obvious. Buffy looked around and spotted Angel sitting at a slot machine, mindlessly putting in quarters. She rushed up to him. "Angel. Where ya been?"

"Here." Angel said calmly. "I was there before and now I'm here."

"I think company's coming, kids, and I don't mean my Aunt Gert." Lorne said.

"Look, there's big bad going down." Gunn said to Angel. "We gotta get Lorne outta here. Think you can slow 'em down?"

"Ok." Angel looked back at the slot machine.

"Gimme your car keys." Angel got his keys from his pocket without taking his eyes off the slot machine. "Hold 'em off as long as you can. I'll swing the car around, pick you up at the end of the block in front of the Nugget. Ok?"

"Ok." He put another quarter into the slot machine as they walked off. "Good luck." Angel stood and moved over to the next slot machine where he sat down and continued playing.

* * *

Buffy, Connor, Gunn, Fred, and Lorne walked through the casino toward an exit. Gunn punched a guard in the face and they continued walking. They ended up in a shopping center full of people with Elvis music playing "Viva Las Vegas" over the loud speaker.

"Where the hell are we?" Gunn asked.

"Oh, wrong exit. This is Glitter Gulch." Lorne said.

"Which way's the car?" Connor asked.

"Oh, I-I think it's back this…." Fred said, but she spotted guards looking for them and immediately turned away. "Nevermind."

They ducked their heads and evaded the guards. Buffy was the first to notice that they had a way out away from the guards. She pushed Connor forward. "Go." They followed her lead and pushed their way on through the crowd.

"You said this DeMarco guy is destroying lives. How?" Gunn asked.

"By taking 'em." Lorne said.

"By killing people?"

"No, worse, muchacho. He's been using me to read members of my audience. Find those with what he calls valuable destinies: power, wealth, fame, yadda yadda yadda. Then the ones I pick, they get chosen to play this _Spin To Win_ game. Only it's not a game. It's a big scamola. Then their destinies are imprinted on the chips and that old black magic wheel's tricked out to never pay off. The house always wins, and everybody loses: their futures, their destinies…. They get offered up to an extremely black global market and sold to anyone willing to pay big money to change his or her life."

"Futures trading." Fred said.

"Can't get any more literal than that, crumb cake."

"What happens to them? Those people?" Buffy asked.

"Uh, nothing. Nothing happens to 'em, or will. They got no purpose, no direction. Unable to accomplish or succeed at anything ever again. Most never leave here. Some never get out of the casino. They just sit there shoveling coins into slot machines that never pay off, like zombies or…."

Buffy stopped dead. "Angel! They got him."

"Uh-oh." Fred said.

"Yeah, I'd say that's a pretty big uh-oh." Gunn said.

"No, she means that uh-oh." Connor said, pointing at the guards that were walking straight toward them all sides.

"What now?" Fred asked.

"Now we do that fighting for our lives thing we do." Gunn said.

"Yeah, or…. Or I do this." Lorne grabbed a nearby microphone and sang a very high pitched note into it, causing light bulbs everywhere to explode. It got the desired effect when chaos exploded around them and people ran every which way. The guards quickly lost track of them.Buffy and Connor let the way and they were a few blocks away before Fred, Gunn, and Lorne stopped to catch their breath in front of the Red Barn martini bar.

"That was…. brilliant, Lorne." Fred said. "I may never hear my upper registers again, but nice work."

"Yeah, great work. How you sold Angel out." Gunn snapped.

"Charles…."

"Boy, DeMarco must have wet his pants when you told him what a ripe destiny that was for the pickings. A champion to save the world or destroy it."

"You really believe I'd do that?" Lorne asked.

"I don't know, Lorne. I don't know why you did any of it. What, you were living so large, blaring Tony Bennett so loud in that sweet suite of yours, you couldn't hear your conscience screaming at you!"

"Charles, it doesn't matter." Fred said.

"It does to me. I wanna know, Lorne. Why didn't you just say no to that piece of…."

"I did!" Lorne snapped. "The first time he asked me to, of course I refused. So he blew a girl's brains out right in front of me. And he said that's what I could expect every time I said no."

"Sorry."

"No more than I am, slick."

"Look, we don't have time for this." Buffy said. "We've got to get Angel and then figure out a way to get return everyone's destinies."

"She's right." Fred said.

"So, which way's the car?"

* * *

Gunn drove Angel's car, with Fred in shotgun and Lorne in the back seat with Buffy and Connor. Gunn stopped the car in front of the Tropicana and put it in park. "Ok," Buffy said. "As soon as Gunn and I find Angel, we're bringing him right out." She and Gunn got out of the car.

"Better leave the engine running in case there's a posse behind us." Gunn said.

Fred scooted behind the wheel. "But…."

"We'll be careful." Buffy and Gunn walked into the casino and walked up behind Angel, who was still sitting in front of the slot machines. "Angel." After waiting a second to finish his turn on the machine, Angel turned toward them, his face still expressionless. "You…. you know who we are, right?"

"Gunn."

"That's right."

"And Buffy."

"And we're your friends."

"I know. I'm not stupid." He turned back to the slot machines to continue playing.

"Yeah. Ok. Angel, something's happened to you." Gunn walked around to face Angel.

"Oh, I got two cherries."

"What?"

"I got two cherries. If I get another one, I get my quarter back."

"You can't, Angel." Buffy said.

Gunn grabbed Angel by the upper arms and shook him. "Listen to me. There's been a casino heist, only you're the heistee. They jacked your destiny. Now we gotta find a way to fix it, but until then, we gotta get outta here."

Angel turned back to the slot machines. "Have to play to win."

Gunn looked at Buffy for some help. "Yeah, ok." She grabbed Angel's face and turned him towards her, placing a fiery kiss on his lips that made Gunn say, "Damn, that's hot." Buffy pulled away after a moment and looked at Angel.

"That was nice." Was all he said.

Buffy groaned and grabbed Angel's arm and started to walk away. "Game's over. We're leaving now." They turned and a bodyguards followed by Fred, Connor, and Lorne, who were being held by guards.

"As a matter of fact, you're not." The guy said. The guards grabbed Buffy and Gunn and escorted them away with the others. Angel wasn't taken, so he sat back down to the slot machine.

"Angel!" Buffy called back. Angel, still expressionless and completely not phased by any of it, started putting quarters into the slot again.

Lorne, Fred, Connor, Buffy, and Gunn were brought into the control room, where Lee DeMarco was waiting for them, sitting at his desk in a leather chair with his feet on the desk. "Lorne! I am so relieved." He said. "I was afraid that something terrible might have happened to you. Missing your second show like that. All those poor, disappointed people. All I could do was refund their money and comp their rooms for the inconvenience. And, my, my, what an inconvenience it was for all of us."

"Yeah, yeah, ok, Lee. Ok." Lorne said. "White flag's up. You got me. Grind your organ, I'll be your monkey. But you'll get nothing from me if you hurt anyone else. I swear it."

"Lorne, sweetie. You worry too much. I promise, you will be the only one hurting. Your friends will be dead so quick they won't feel a thing."


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

"Take them out in the desert and shoot them." Lee DeMarco said. "Bring the demon, I'd like him to watch." Guards started walking Fred, Buffy, Connor, Gunn, and Lorne out of the room. Lee went over to the desk of one of his brokers to check up on things. The bodyguard walked up to Lee with a concerned face.

"Mr. DeMarco."

"Not now, Spencer."

"Sir, we have a winner."

Lee looked up at the monitor and saw Angel sitting at the winning slot machine. He was obviously angry and started pushing people out of the way to get a closer look. "That's impossible."

"He's won a little over 300,000 dollars. And a car."

"Pretty good haul for somebody with no destiny, huh?" Buffy shot at Lee.

"What are you doing? You, you, back on the phones. And bring me that vampire. Now!" The guards jumped to it and Angel was brought into the control room less than five minutes later. Lee was fuming and pacing with Connor, Buffy, Lorne, Gunn, and Fred lined up between guards. Angel was still laid back and expressionless.

"Hi." He said to Buffy and the others.

"I want answers." Lee said. "And they better be the right ones, or you're dead."

"Uh, I know this room…." Spencer punched Angel in the face.

"I'll-I'll start again. How did you win on the slot machine?"

"I put a quarter in the slot, and I pulled that little lever."

"Are you playing games with me, vampire?"

"Have to play to win."

"It was a fluke. A glitch in the machine. There's nothing there. Pay him his winnings in quarters and take the others on their desert tour." A guard pushed Buffy and then punched her. Buffy turned around with doubled up fists and clubbed the guy on his temple. He went down hard and another guard pulled out a gun and stuck it in her face. Angel suddenly went into vamp face and attacked him. Buffy and Angel started a fight with the guards and Gunn and Connor joined in. Fred even threw a punch or two. The brokers got up and started leaving their desks to get out of the fray.

"What am I paying you for? Shoot them!" Lee screamed.

A guard shot his gun, but hit Spencer instead, knocking him down. Lorne grabbed a Billy club from one of the guards and knocked him down with it. Then he saw the mystical item that Lee was using, and headed straight for it. It looked like a glowing crystal ball on a pedestal.

Lee cut him off. "Ooh! W-wait! No, no, no, no, no! Hey, maybe I went about this wrong. We can still come to terms, right, kid? I mean, it wasn't all bad here, I mean not, not all the time. What's it gonna take? A bigger suite, fewer shows? You got it! What…. whaddaya say?"

"Duck." Lorne swung the club at the glowing ball, smashing it to pieces.

"No!"

Colorful swirls of light rose from the shattered pieces of the crystal ball and headed out toward the casino, making a slight burst of breeze as they went by. Buffy paused in her fight to watch Angel's light come back to him. He turned around, smiling and nodding. "This room…. there's something familiar." He said.

"Angel?" Gunn asked.

"You're my friend. I know. I'm not stupid." Buffy walked up to them. "And that's Buffy." He suddenly realized what she was wearing and raised an eyebrow.

"Don't ask." Buffy said.

Connor walked over. "Are you ok?" He asked Buffy and Angel.

"Peachy with a side of keen."

"Let's get the hell out of here." Angel said. They walked out of the room into the casino. "Oh, now I remember that room! Elvis and Priscilla's wedding reception, 1967. Yes. All right. It's not that I was you know really invited. They just put me near the dais. I think somebody thought I was in the band. Probably because I was all drunk and surly. They had these little fried peanut butter and banana sandwiches." They all shook their heads and walked on ahead of him. "What?"

* * *

Buffy roamed the aisles of the gas station they were stopped at just inside LA. Connor and Fred were in the restrooms, Lorne was sleeping in the car, Gunn was filling the car up, and Angel was looking through the glass doors at the selections of water. Buffy noticed him and walked up to him.

"I don't get it." He said.

"What's that?"

"Why are there so many brands of water? It's water. I mean, they all say the same thing. From a fresh mountain spring." He paused. "And there's nothing fresh about a mountain spring. Do you know what animals have done in that water?"

"I don't think I wanna know." Buffy reached in and grabbed a Sobe. "That's why I stick with fruit drinks."

Angel smiled. "So…."

"So."

"I guess you and Connor are headed back to Sunnydale tomorrow morning."

"Yeah."

"He hasn't said much to me since he's been here."

"You've got to give him time Angel."

"If you take him away, I won't be able to."

Buffy sighed. "He doesn't have to come with me. He can always stay here."

"No. It's what he wants."

"I promise he'll be taken care of."

Angel smiled and took a step closer to her. "I know. You've been good for him."

Buffy took a step towards Angel. "Uh huh."

"Buffy…."

"Yeah?"

"About that kiss earlier…."

"Yeah?"

"It was more than nice." Angel lowered his head and met Buffy's lips with his. He returned the smoldering kiss she'd given him back in Vegas. Her knees almost gave way and Angel wrapped his arms around her waist to hold her up.

"I knew it!" Buffy and Angel broke apart and looked over at Connor. "I knew you hated me!"

"Connor…."

"She's mine and you know it!"

"Connor." Buffy said. "That's ridiculous!"

"It is not! You said you loved me! You said that you and him were over with! You're both liars." He ran out of the store.

Buffy started to run after him, but Angel grabbed her arm. "Let him go."

"Let him go!?"

"He's ok. He just needs time to cool off."

"Angel, he's not ok. You heard what he said."

"He's just upset because he has feelings for you and he thinks I'm stealing you away from him." Buffy started to protest. "Let him cool down and then talk to him."

She sighed. "Fine."

* * *

"Ok, no more road trips for at least six months." Gunn said as they walked into the garden of the Hyperion.

"I can't wait for a nice, hot bath." Fred said.

"Hey, you guys ok?" Lorne asked Buffy and Angel.

"Just thinking. Doesn't make any sense winning on that machine." Angel said.

"Maybe DeMarco was right: glitch in the machine." Gunn suggested.

"Or maybe Lady Luck was smiling down on you." Lorne said.

"Hmm." Angel said. "Lady Luck. I don't know. Just, I don't get why or how I was able to fight when I had no reason to, no destiny."

"Well, even without a flight plan, bucko, you're still a stealth bomber. You were fighting for your friends' futures. The people you love are part of your destiny. Nobody can take that away, not even you. But that's not what I was actually talking about. Connor ran off pretty quickly after that little fight."

"He's just upset."

"You three need to talk. From what I can read without you two singing, you've got some hot chemistry going and it's burning that boy of yours. Well, listen, I got a lot more insightful bon mots like that, but, um, I've been stuck in a car for five and a half hours, and I gotta pee. Excuse me." He walked away.

"Hey, so that bath idea?" Gunn said. "Maybe I can help you with one or two of those hard-to-reach spots."

"Or three." Fred giggled.

"Ok, but three is where I draw the…." Standing just inside the front door, they were shocked at what they saw in the lobby. It was Cordelia, wearing a white robe. She turned to face them with a blank look on her face.

"Cordelia?" Angel asked.

"Who are you people?" Cordelia asked.

"My God! It's you. You're back." Cordelia backed away. "Don't you remember? Angel. Um, you see her too, right? I'm not just…."

"No, man, it's real." Gunn said.

"It's ok. We're friends. You know us. Fred. Gunn. Buffy. You're dazed or something must…. Thank God you're back."

"So we know each other?" Cordelia asked.

"Yeah, really well." Gunn said.

"Ok, um…. who am I?"

"What do you remember?" Angel asked.

"I don't know. Numbers. Animals. Flossing."

"But not us."

"Or me. I don't remember me."

"You're Cordelia Chase. You work here. With us. You've been gone for a while, but you're safe now." Angel stepped towards her, but she stepped back. "It's ok. We-we're friends. We're here to help you."

"I've been gone?"

"What's important is that you're back."

"Are there other people here?"

"Um, not to sound all 'Movie of the Week'," Fred said. "But I think you might have some kind of amnesia. Like maybe you fell or banged your head."

"Should we take her to a hospital?" Buffy asked.

"Hospital?" Cordelia asked. "I don't need a…. Not yet, maybe later."

"I don't think seeing a doctor will solve her problems." Fred whispered to Buffy.

Angel saw Lorne approaching from the garden and whispered to Fred and Gunn. "Neither will seeing green. You wanna know what might help you remember? Seeing some of your things." He looked at Gunn. "You wanna check for her things out in the garden?"

"Checking away." Gunn said. Outside, Gunn pushed Lorne out of sight before Cordelia saw him.

"Hey, Fred. You wanna help me look in the office?"

"Sure." Fred said. "Excuse us." She and Angel dashed into the office, leaving Buffy standing with Cordelia.

"Hi." Buffy said. Cordelia smiled politely at her. "How are you?"

"Confused mostly." Cordelia said. She looked at Buffy warily. "So, I know you too?"

"Used to. I haven't seen you in a long time."

"I've been gone apparently."

"I mean before that. We went to high school together. After we graduated, I only saw you twice, I think."

"When did we graduate?"

"1999."

"And what year is it now?"

"2002."

Cordelia nodded and looked at the window to the office. Fred and Angel looked over and waved. "Ok, that's creepy." She saw a bladed weapon on the floor. "So's that."

Before Buffy could say anything about it, Angel and Fred came back into the lobby from the office. "Couldn't really find anything of yours in the office." Angel said.

"That's ok." The phone rang. "Shouldn't someone answer that?"

"The machine'll get it. You really don't have to be afraid."

"Easy for you to say. I don't know that. Don't know you, this place…."

"Hi. You've reached Angel Investigations. We can't come to the phone right now, but if you leave your name and number, we'll get back to you as soon as possible. Thanks! And wait for the beep." The answering machine beeped.

"But that voice…. Oh, my God! It's me. I work here."

"Uh, yeah, this is Murray, down at the spa." The machine said. "Listen, it's after midnight, and uh, you better get down here. That demon broad came back. Looks like she's gonna try and hatch her blood-sucking little…" Angel coughed and gestured subtly that Fred should get the phone before Cordelia could hear too much and get frightened.

Fred grabbed the phone. "We're here. Uh-huh. Ok. We'll be right there."

"Did he say demon broad?" Cordelia asked.

"Yeah. His, um, wife. It's an ugly divorce case thing. You know, private eye stuff. I should get Charles and terminate it before the situation multiplies." Cordelia turned her head to Angel, and Fred mimed giving birth, trying to explain what was going on for Angel without letting Cordelia know.

"Ok. I'll just stay here and help Cordelia settle in."

"Ok." Fred ran out to the garden. Cordelia's expression showed suspicion, like she knew there was more going on than they were telling her.

"So…." Angel said.

"I wanna go home. Know where I live?"

"Actually…. It's a long story, but the short version is: Here. You live here."

"Here?"

Angel nodded. "Angel?" Buffy asked. He looked over at her. "I'm gonna head on up to the room and get things packed."

"You're leaving?"

"Not just yet. But I've got to get things ready and find Connor." He nodded. Buffy turned and headed up the stairs.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Buffy was finishing putting her clothes in a bag when Angel knocked on the door and poked his head in. "Can I come in?"

"It's your room." He walked in and shut the door behind him. "Where's Cordy?"

"In her room. She's looking through her things."

"Oh."

"Everything ok with you?"

"I'm fine. You should be worrying about Cordelia."

"I do, but you kinda bailed on me back there."

"Sorry. I'm just worried about Connor."

"I worry about him all the time. He's been through a lot in life. Until he met you, he was an angry teenager who hated the world."

"He still is. They're all like that, Angel."

"Do you love him?"

"Of course I love him."

"No, do you _love_ him?"

Buffy stared at Angel, not comprehending what he was asking her at first. "What? Oh my god! No! No. Not like that. No. You thought…. No. Angel, I love Connor, but I'm not _in_ love with him." She paused. "He's like a son to me." She caught herself. "I mean…. He's your son, obviously. So I kinda feel like his mom. Not that I'm assuming that title without your permission. No way."

Angel smiled. "It's ok, Buffy. Maybe in a different lifetime…. He could've been. I would've liked you to have been his mother." He sighed. "Fate's been so cruel to us since the day I first saw you."

"Angel, can I ask you a question?"

"Anything."

"Were you and Cordelia…. Did you two…. Did you and Cordelia have a relationship?"

Angel hesitated. "No. Yes. Maybe. Not really."

Buffy's eyes widened and she stood up. "Which is it?"

"I don't know."

"How can you not know? You either did or you didn't."

"Then we didn't."

"But you wanted to?"

Angel looked away. "The night Cordy disappeared and Connor threw me in the ocean…. She was supposed to meet me at the bluffs. We were going to talk about where we stood."

Buffy moved away from him. "Did you love her?"

"Buffy…. I'm not sure what I feel anymore."

"You did?"

"A part of me." He stood up and moved in front of her. "You're still my girl. I still love you."

"But you don't want me. You want her."

"I don't…. Buffy, I'll always want you."

"What did you want with Cordelia?"

"I don't know. There's no chance to find out since she doesn't have her memory. I'll never know what she felt for me or what I felt for her. Maybe there were feelings. Or maybe it was just me being lonely."

Buffy closed her eyes. "Angel…."

"Did you love Riley?"

"What?"

"Did you…."

"No."

Angel looked shocked. "I was hoping you would say a part of you did so I could say, 'then you know how I feel.'"

"I used to think I did, but I was too in love with you to love anyone else." Buffy said without realizing Angel was still talking, saying, "But then again I don't want you to say that you loved him because I want you to be mine and not anyone else's."

Buffy stopped. "What?"

Angel shook his head and stood up. "I better check on Cordelia."

Buffy grabbed his hand. "Angel, what did you say?"

"I never wanted to get into this conversation with you because I don't know exactly what to say."

"Then just talk as it comes to your mind."

He sat down on the bed and looked at Buffy as she sat in the chair across from the bed. "My head is so confused about my feelings, it hurts." She smiled understandingly. "I want you more than ever. These last couple of weeks…. Being around you…. Kissing you…. But the curse is still in place."

"What about Cordelia?"

"That's why it's so confusing. Every time I felt something for Cordelia, I wanted you. When I dream…. It starts out as Cordelia, but in the end, it's always you I'm dreaming about." He paused. "When I was down there, hallucinating…. I thought I was on the bluff with Cordelia. And it was wonderful. But when we kissed…. I hated her. I hated her for getting in the way of my love for you. I hated her so much, I killed her. No matter what I think or feel, it's always about you! That night you told me when you looked into the future, all you could see was me and all you wanted was me…. I feel the same way too. Now more than ever." Angel looked up at Buffy and realized she was crying. "What's wrong?"

"Oh…. I just never thought I'd hear you say any of that to me."

"Why?"

"You were always walking away! Every time I thought there was the hint of a chance, you went away from me again. I always held out hope, though. I always hoped that one day, you would say everything you felt and you wouldn't walk away. But then…. I knew I didn't have a chance with you anymore once you told me about Connor." She sighed. "But you know when I really lost all hope for us? When I saw you between here and Sunnydale. I knew I would never hear you wanted me to be yours when you didn't say it the moment you knew I was alive again."

"I said I love you."

"But you didn't say you wanted me. And afterwards, I went back through my memories and I remembered one time that you gave me up completely. But I didn't really remember it. I didn't know what was going on, so I had Willow help me out with a little memory jogging. The day I got my memory back of that day…. It was awful. I was awful. I did something awful that started months of awfulness."

"Buffy…."

"Please don't ask me about it because it's over now and I don't want to think about it again unless I absolutely have to. But I got lost for so long because of the night I remembered that day between us."

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be. I was just in a rough patch in my life and I didn't understand it at the time. But I'm ok now. I understand why you did it and I accepted that you and I were over with. But now…."

"I can't ask you to drop your life and come back to me."

"I don't even know if I could say yes or no. I'll always want you. I'll always love you."

"Tell you what. Let's just take it slow. Let's just go day by day and see where it leads us."

"I have to go back to Sunnydale soon. Dawn will be home from Europe and I have to be there. I need to find Connor."

"You still want to take him with you?"

"Of course. He's not ok, Angel. He won't be ok if he stays here in LA. That place…. Quar-Toth…. And Holtz…. They poisoned him. He just needs someone to love him and to be there for him."

"I think you're right." He sighed. "He needs a mother."

"I'll take him back with me to Sunnydale. I'll love him like he's my son. I'll take care of him and I'll work on his feelings towards you."

"And I'll come to see you both whenever I can."

"And we'll talk."

"We'll talk and see where we stand."

Buffy smiled. "Good."

"You want help finding Connor?"

"That would be nice. It would show him that you do care about him."

"What about his feelings for you?"

"I'll take care of him, Angel, but I won't go there with him. I don't have those feelings for him. Besides, he's your son."

"I'd like to call him yours too one day."

Buffy smiled. "Maybe one day."

* * *

They found Connor sitting on a beach, staring at the waves. "You have a weird fascination with the ocean, kiddo." Buffy said, sitting down next to him.

"What do you want?" Connor asked.

"I want you to come to Sunnydale."

"Why?"

"Because I want you to live with me and train with me and learn how to function in this crazy world."

"You don't love me. You love him."

"Connor, I do love you, but not the way you want me to love you." He looked away. "I understand you're angry. I never expected Angel and I to become so close again, but we did. But we're thinking of you. We're putting you above everything else."

"Now you're suddenly my mother?"

"Don't be that way."

"Why?"

"Because it's just mean. I care about you Connor."

"Because I'm his son."

"No. Because you're my friend. I cared about you long before I knew who you were." She looked back at Angel and he came to sit on Connor's other side.

"Great, you came to bombard me."

Angel touched his son's shoulder, but he shrugged his hand away. "Connor, I don't want you to hate me."

"Well, I do."

"I know that. But I don't want you to. I want you to learn to love me. I'm your father and I do love you."

"No, you love Buffy."

"Yes, I love Buffy. But you're my son. You're a part of me." Connor looked away and out at the ocean. "I'm sorry."

"For what?"

"For not being able to save you. I tried so hard, but I couldn't. The place Holtz took you…. There was no way in."

"I found a way out."

"You did. And I'm so happy you did. I wish that I had been there for your childhood. I wish that I could've seen you grow up."

"But you didn't."

Angel looked down. "Connor, I tried. I'm sorry I couldn't save you. I tried everything I possibly could, but nothing worked. I risked the safety of the world to get you back and it didn't work. I love you, son. I love you more than you'll ever know."

"We both love you." Buffy said. "I loved you the moment Angel put you in my arms."

"You knew me when I was a baby?" Connor asked.

"Angel called me and told me about you. I wasn't happy at first…."

"Why?"

"Because I wanted you to be my baby. I wanted you to be mine and Angel's son."

"Why?"

"Because I love Angel. I wanted a family with him."

"Why couldn't you have one? He had me."

Buffy smiled. "Because vampires can't have children."

"Why am I here?"

"You're special." Angel said. "There was a prophecy about you. You were meant to be born."

"Why aren't I Buffy's son?"

"Because Angel and I can't…. do the thing that you have to do to make babies." Buffy said.

"What?"

Buffy looked at Angel. "What?" He asked.

"He's your son. You need to explain the birds and the bees to him!"

Connor laughed. "Guys, I know what sex is. Why can't you two have it?"

"Because of Angel's curse. If he has one moment of pure happiness, he loses his soul and becomes evil again."

"And having sex with Buffy is pure happiness?"

"For me it is." Angel said, clearing his throat.

"So, if you had a choice, I would be Buffy's son?"

"I want that more than anything. And now you have a chance to have a mother who loves you and will take care of you no matter what."

Connor sighed. "I'll go to Sunnydale with Buffy."

Buffy smiled. "Good, cause you really didn't have a choice."

"I brought chloroform just in case." Angel said with a playful smile.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Buffy stood in the graveyard talking to Connor as they waited for a vampire to rise from his grave. "It's about power. Who's got it. Who knows how to use it. So who's got the power?"

"He does." Connor said.

"Never forget it. Doesn't matter how well prepped you are or how well armed you are. He's a vampire. A demon. Preternaturally strong. Skilled with powers no human could possibly ever…."

"Excuse me. I think I'm stuck." The vampire said, half out of the grave.

"You're stuck?"

"My foot's caught on a root or something, and…. I don't even know how I got down there. If you could just give me a hand…."

"So, he's got the power?" Connor asked with a smirk.

"Zip it."

"I really appreciate it. It's just it's so dark, and I don't even know what I'm doing here." Buffy picked him up by his suit collar and put him down standing on his feet. "Whoa. Ooh. Thanks. That was a help. Unfortunately it was the last…." Buffy grabbed him by the throat and his voice turned scratchy. "….. thing you'll ever do."

"Listen up. I'm the Slayer. You don't want to get into it with me. You want blood? You can have his" The vampire turned to go after Connor. "Power. He's got it. He's going to use it. Good." Connor was concentrating on keeping the vampire at bay and when he staked him, he missed the heart. The vamp managed to push Connor down, but he was too fast and grabbed the vamp's collar, hauling him into the air and slamming into a tree. Buffy tossed him a sword and Connor cut the vamp's head off, turning it to dust. "It's real. It's the only lesson. It's always real."

"I can't believe I missed the heart!" Connor laughed.

"My first time out, I missed the heart."

"No way."

"Just the once." Buffy walked back to pack up her tools and weapons and they began walking home. "I just wish vampires and demons were all we had to worry about. But they're nothing compared to what's coming. I thought I was long past it."

"What's that?"

"High school. I guess you're never past it. Just a few more days till it starts. Then we'll never know what's coming next."

"Was it really that bad?"

"High school's always a bitch, but add a Hellmouth to the mix and you've got one hell of a party. And I mean that hell part literally."

Connor laughed. "Poor Dawn."

"Yeah. Maybe it's not too late to send her to private school." Buffy sighed. "Well, I don't know about you, but I want pizza tonight."

"Pizza sounds good."

"Let's pick one up on the way home and surprise Dawn."

"I don't think she likes me very much."

"Why?"

"I don't know. She never talks to me."

"That's just Dawn. She'll come around soon. She just doesn't know you. But you should make an effort to get to know her. You two'll get along."

"You think?"

"I know."

Connor nodded. "Well, if you say so."

* * *

Buffy was getting ready to send Dawn off to her first day of school. Connor was sitting at the breakfast bar downing his third bowl of cereal. "Dawn! Xander's here." She called up the stairs.

"Just a minute." Dawn called back down.

"You're going to be late."

"I'm comfortable with that."

Buffy opened the front door to let Xander in. "Good morning!" He said.

"Well, you gotta eat something. I made cereal." Buffy called up the stairs.

"Ok." Dawn called.

Buffy looked at Xander. "You're unconscionably spiffy." She walked into the kitchen with Xander following.

"Client meeting." He said. "How exactly do you make cereal?"

"Ah, you put the box near the milk. I saw it on the food channel. Want something?"

"I ate. I'm good." Xander looked at Connor. "The Con man! What's up?"

"His hunger level." Buffy said. "That's his third bowl."

"Fourth." Connor said between bites. "I finished the third one while you were answering the door."

"Where do you put it?"

"It's a man's secret, Buff. It's like asking a woman how much she weighs." Xander smiled. "So, how are you?"

"My sister's about to go to the same high school that tried to kill me for three years. I can't change districts, I can't afford private school, and I can't begin to prepare for what could possibly come out of there. So, peachy with a side of keen, that would be me."

"Well here's a little something for what ails ya." Xander gestured with the tube of papers he brought in.

"Mmm. You got the rest."

"Got the rest of what?" Connor asked, loosing interest in his bowl of ceral.

Xander went into the dining room with Buffy and Connor following. He laid out the plans for the high school. "Take a look."

"Hey. Check out double-O Xander." Dawn said, coming downstairs.

"Go. Talk with your mouth full." Buffy said.

"I've got two crews working on this diabolical yet lucrative new campus." Xander said. "One here finishing the Science building. And one here, reinforcing the Gym. There are no pentagrams, no secret passageways. Everything's up to code and safe as houses."

"Nothing creepy? Strange? From beyond?"

"Maybe you're just paranoid." Dawn said with her mouth full.

"Well, there is one interesting detail." Xander said. "I managed to scare up the plan from the old high school. You remember the very center of Sunnydale's own Hellmouth?" He put up the new and the old plans to the window so they could see through them.

"Under the library." Buffy said.

"Right. So I lined up the plans, new and old. And right exactly where the library was, we now have…."

"The principal's office."

"So the principal's evil?" Dawn asked.

"Or in a boatload of danger."

"Well the last two principals were eaten." Xander said.

Connor scrunched up his face. "Jeez, who would even apply for that job?"

"Guess we'll see. Ooh, we have to leave though." She looked at Dawn. "You have everything? Books, lunch, stakes?"

"Checked thrice." Dawn confirmed.

"Did you give her the…." Xander whispered, ending the sentence with a slight nod.

"No, I was saving it." Buffy said.

"What is it?" Dawn asked.

"Back to school gift."

"It's a weapon, isn't it?"

"Yes, it is."

Dawn began to open the present and squealed when she saw the contents. "I LOVE you! I totally love you!"

"What is it?" Connor asked, inspecting the little plastic device.

"It's a cell phone." Buffy said. She looked at Dawn. "And it's only to be used in emergencies. I don't want to get the bill every month and see phone calls to all your friends running up the minutes."

Dawn sighed. "But…."

"No buts. I'll take it away if you're using it for pleasure. We have a house phone that calls free to everyone you know in Sunnydale."

"Fine. Can I at least download a cool ringtone?"

"No. Now come on, you're going to be late for school."

"Still not having a problem with that." Dawn said, grabbing her bag.

* * *

Xander pulled the car up to drop Buffy, Connor, and Dawn off in front of the school. "I'm gonna take her to class, have a look around." Buffy said to Xander.

"Ok. I'm gonna be on-site here all day, so if you have any needs…." Xander said, pointing to himself to make the point. Buffy, Connor, and Dawn got out of the car and Xander drove off. They walked toward the school's front archway.

"Now, remember, if you see anything strange…. or, you know…. dead…."

"I got it." Dawn said.

"And stay away from hyena people, or any lizard-type athletes, you know, or if you see anyone that's invisible."

"Hey, Buffy, I think it's pretty safe to say I'm not going to see anybody that's invisible."

"You know, you could still drop out. Only nerds finish high school."

"You know, I don't really think it's fair for you to try and scare me on my first day of high school. Cause it is so redundant."  
"The place is evil."

As they entered the archway, a tall, handsome black man greeted them. "Tough to let 'em go, huh?"

"Hi." Buffy said.

"I'm Robin Wood. New principal."

"Oh, uh, Buffy Summers. This is Dawn. And this is Connor."

"Nice to meet you."

"Hi." Dawn said.

"So you're the new principal. I expected you to be more…. aged." Buffy said.

"Huh. You seem a bit young to have such grown-up kids." Principal Wood said.

"Oh. Uh, uh, no. She's my sister. And Connor is a friend of mine's son. I'm taking care of him."

"Oh, right, um, of course."

"You didn't really think they were my…. it's my hair. I have mom hair."  
"No…." Connor said.

"I actually have heard of you, Miss Summers." Principal Wood said. "Graduated from the old high school, am I right?"

"Uh, yeah. How did you….?" Buffy asked.

"Well, I better get back to work. Gotta start deadening young minds. It's really nice to meet you. You have fun." The principal left and Buffy eyed him carefully as he walked away.

"That was suspicious."

"You betcha. Bye." Dawn walked away from Buffy and Connor through the school's courtyard to go to class.

"Oh, Dawn…."

"I know! You never know what's coming. To Serve Man is a cookbook. I love you. Go away."

Connor saw the disappointed look on Buffy's face. "Wanna snoop?"

She brightened. "What an excellent idea, Connor!"

Buffy and Connor waited until everything was quiet and then headed into the building. They walked the halls of the high school while class was in session, checking it out. Suddenly, a basketball was thrown at a locker by a kid who wasn't in class. She went to check it out, and saw a kid walk away down another hall out of sight. With a sigh, Buffy pointed at the girls' restroom to let Connor know where she was going. He nodded and she walked in, looking at herself in the mirror and fondling her hair, pouting.

"It's not mom hair."

She went to wash her hands and noticed a small bundle of feathers, twigs, crystals, and such bound together with some string. She picked it up and when she looked in the mirror, she saw a girl who wasn't there before and the girl looked very much dead.

"You can't protect her. You couldn't protect me." The girl said.

Buffy turned around but there was no one there. Then something else came after her and she backed against the wall. "Get out. Get out. Get out!" It was a dead janitor. When Buffy looked up again, he was gone.

She ripped open the bathroom door and dove into the hallway. "What!?" Connor asked.

"We have to find Dawn." Buffy said.

"Why?"

"Dead people. Very dead people in the bathroom."

"Good reason."

Buffy and Connor rushed down the hallways, looking into each classroom. Finally, they head Dawn's voice saying, "I love to dance. I like music. I'm very into Britney Spears' early work, before she sold out. So mostly her, um, finger painting and macaroni art. Very underrated. Favorite activities include not ever having to do this again, and uh…."

Buffy burst into the classroom. "Dawn!"

"What?"

"We have to go. It's not safe."

"But…."

"We, um…. I mean I saw…."

"Can I help you?" The teacher asked.

"No, I uh…. Dawn, I just thought you were, um, in danger…. of smoking. I'll be around." Buffy left the classroom and heard Dawn say, "I also have a sister."

"Where is she?" Connor asked. "Why did she come with you?"

Buffy sighed. "I think I just firmly knocked down any popularity points Dawn could've gained." She started to head for where Xander said he would be.

"Why would she want those?"

"In high school, everyone strives to be popular. It's a thing."

"Were you popular?"

"At my first high school, I was. But at Sunnydale, I was an outcast. Even when the most popular girl in school was actually dating one of my best friends, we were still outcasts. But it was easier that way. I never thought anyone noticed me until the prom."

"What's the prom?"

"Big formal dance with pretty dresses and guys in tuxedoes and punch and bad music."

"Were you pretty? Is that why people noticed you?"

"No. I mean, yeah I was pretty…. But they gave me a class protector award. They said that because of me, my graduating class had the lowest mortality rate of any graduating class."

"And they gave you an award?"

"A pretty little umbrella with a tiny little plaque that said _Buffy Summers: Class Protector_. I'll have to show you when we get home."

"There's Xander." Connor pointed.

Buffy strode purposely up to him. He noticed them coming and turned with a smile. "So, how's it looking? Does the place pass inspection?"

"Oh, it's great…. if you're a zombie ghost thing!" Buffy said.

"So school's back in session, huh?"

"Seems like old times." A construction worker walked up to where they were talking, so Connor, Xander, and Buffy walked to somewhere more private to have their conversation.

"So, zombies or ghosts?"

"I'm not sure. They were in the mirror, but they disappeared. Um, but they touched me, I think. Well, let's just start with dead and pissed."

"They were after you personally?"

"They talked about protecting people. Told me to leave."

"No damage, though."

"I think I may have destroyed Dawn's social life in all of about 30 seconds, but apart from that, no."

"Ah, being popular isn't so great. Or so I've read in books."

"This isn't a coincidence, you know, the school being rebuilt. It means something."

"As in what?"

Buffy shrugged. "I don't know. But I'm sure as hell going to find out."

"You should start with the principal. Maybe he's got something to do with it."

"Yeah, met that guy. His creep factor was up there." Connor nodded his agreement. Buffy looked at him. "So, I guess we should head back in there and snoop some more."

"Works for me." Connor said.

"Come on Snoopy."

"Let me know if something happens." Xander said. Buffy waved at him with an affirmative nod.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

Buffy and Connor were walking in the hall in a hurry and weren't looking where they were going. Buffy bumped into the principal. "Whoa." He said.

"Ooh, sorry." Buffy said.

"Miss Summers…. And friend's son Connor. I didn't know you were still about."

"Uh, yeah, we were just looking for…."

"I thought in general it was customary for a person who's graduated to, um, you know, go somewhere else."

"Well, it's a new campus. I'm just getting to know it. You know, make sure it's safe for my sister."

"And how's that working out?"

"Could be safer."

"You know, I, um, have to be honest. I actually know a little bit more about you than I let on before."

"Isn't that interesting?" Buffy shot a glance at Connor.

"Oh, it really is. See, the school board recommended I spend a little time reading your record. It's, um, quite a page-turner. Kind of a checkered past…."

"Huh. More like a plaid. Kind of a clan tartan of badness, really. You know, but there were factors."

"Well, it's clear your sister looks up to you, which I think is great."

"No, she's much, much worse than me. Troublemaker. Expulsion is really the only way to go. You know, or you can suspend her for…. three years."

"Well, how 'bout we give her a chance first. Just as long as she keeps her grades up, and…."

Buffy's cell phone rang. "Boy, that's loud."

"That's a part of the reason we don't allow cell phones in…."

"Excuse me. Yeah." Buffy looked at Connor and at Principal Wood. "Oh, sorry. Connor's dad." She whispered quietly into the phone, "Three dead?"

"Oh, my God!"

"Uh, no, we'll be right there."

"Your dad's dead?" Principal Wood asked Connor.

"Ok. Sorry about that. No, his dad's fine. He's a private detective in LA…. I help him out sometimes. I, uh…. I have to…."

"Yeah. No, of course. And good luck with that…. Dad tragedy thing."

Buffy pulled Connor along and down the hallways to where Buffy had first seen the dead people. "What's going on?" Connor asked.

"Dawn's trapped in the basement with two other kids. She said the bathroom collapsed underneath her and she's lost in the basement." Buffy explained, heading into the women's bathroom. Connor walked in timidly and Buffy laughed at him. "There's no one in here." Without a second thought, Buffy jumped down into the hole. Connor followed and together they wandered around the basement looking for Dawn.

"Dawn!" Buffy called. When there was no answer, Buffy tried calling her cell phone again. Dawn's phone rang where they could hear it. "Dawn? I'm close by."

"Too late. But then, you're always too late, aren't you? Sure as hell didn't save me." The dead janitor guy said.

"Where's my sister?"

"I think she's lost."

"If I'm the one who let you die, why take it out on her? I'm right here. C'mon, what're you after? Fear? Revenge? Tasty brains?"

"I think I'd like Dawn to be my girlfriend." A dead boy said, appearing behind Buffy and Connor.

"Again, wrong sister. I'm the one that dates dead guys. And, no offense, but they were hotties. I mean, I'm sure you had a great personality, but…."

"Busy making out with your dead boyfriend while I was ripped to death by a werewolf?" The dead girl from earlier scoffed. "Is that why you let me die?"

"I was screaming for help when they pulled me down…. The dead boy said.

Buffy made a T with her hands, gesturing for a timeout. "Hello! Not making myself clear. I don't care how you died. I'm sorry for your loss, but where is my sister? Dawn!"

"She's not gonna hear you. This place is like a maze." The dead janitor said.

"This place is ours now. It was built on our graves." The girl said.

"All we want is for you to leave so we can rest again."

"Actually, I'm thinking all you want is to get between me and that door. Who's for finding out why."

"I know I am." Connor said.

The dead guy lunged at Buffy, who pushed him out of the way. Then the dead girl jumped on Connor's back and he fell back to the ground to knock her off. Buffy kicked the dead janitor out of the way and helped Connor to his feet. They thought they had taken them all out, but suddenly all three dead people were standing in front of the door again.

"If at first you don't succeed…." Buffy said.

"Cheat!" Connor finished. And they both jumped over the three dead people. They jumped Buffy and Connor again, but they fought them off and went for the door.

"Dawnie, we have to get o…." When she opened the door, much to her surprise, it wasn't Dawn behind the door. She was now staring into the face of a longer-haired Spike. He looked dismal and not happy to see her. Connor was knocked into the room by the dead janitor.

Buffy barely noticed. "Spike? Are you real?"

Spike laughed and looked at her. He stopped laughing and touched his hand tenderly to her face. "Buffy, duck."

"What? Duck? There's a duck?" From behind, the janitor hit her over the head with a pipe.

"No visitors today. Terribly busy."

Buffy was getting beaten with the pipe by the janitor and Connor ran over and tripped him, making him fall to the floor. Buffy jumped up and used the door where she found Spike to hit the janitor's head. Then she and Connor slammed the door and latched it behind them.

"He'll probably show up in a sec." Buffy said to Connor.

"Nobody comes in here. It's just the four of us." Spike said.

"Spike, have you seen Dawn? She came down here with some kids."

"Don't you think I'm trying? I'm not fast. I'm not a quick study." Spike suddenly yelled, then switched to crying. "I dropped my board in the water and the chalk all ran. Sure to be caned." He laughed. "Should've seen that coming."

"What's wrong with him?" Connor asked. "And who is he?"

"He's Spike. He's a vampire that used to run with Angel along time ago. I thought he was gone…."

"What's wrong with him?"

"That's the million dollar question." Spike moved away from Buffy into a corner, but she followed. His unbuttoned shirt was loose, but he covered his chest with it, crossed his arms, and leaned his back against the wall. She reached for his shirt to see what he was hiding and he looked away. There were numerous deep gashes on the upper left side of his chest, like he had been clawed. "What did you do?"

"I tried…. I…. tried to cut it out."

Buffy's cell phone rang, causing her to jump. She turned away from Spike to answer it. "Dawn?"

"Buffy, where are you?" Dawn asked.

"I…." She was distracted by Spike's barely audible mumbling where he had crouched down on the floor on his tiptoes. "Look, where are you?"

"I don't know. In a room by the furnace. Near where we fell in. They dragged us in here, and then they disappeared."

"Yeah, they came after us too."

"Well, what do they want?"

"So far, to piss me off."

"Please, tell me it's working."

"Oh, Connor and I are damage-bound. I just can't figure them. Ghosts can't touch you and zombies can't disappear, so I don't know what…."

"Not ghosts." Spike said.

"Who was that?" Dawn asked.

"Hold on." Buffy looked over at Spike. "You know what they are?"

"Manifest spirits controlled by a talisman, raised to seek vengeance. A 4-year-old could figure it." Spike said.

"Hang tight. I'll find you. These things can hurt you. You can hurt them too. Find a weapon. Connor and I'll come for you." Buffy hung up. "Spike, you gonna help me out?"

"This is my home. I belong here. Always been here. Cheers for stopping by." Spike walked away from Buffy and faced the wall, pressing his hands on it. "It's in the wall."

"I'll get back to you." Buffy kicked down the door and she and Connor left the room. "Guys? Resentful dead guys?"

"This can't be good." Connor said.

"Come on, manifest spirits, raised up, controlled by a…." Buffy stopped. "A talisman."

"What?"

"Connor, can you get back to the bathroom from here?"

"Yeah, I remember the way. Why?"

"There's a talisman there, sitting on the sinks…. Or on the floor cause I think I dropped it." He nodded. "I need you to find it and break it."

"Will that stop them?"

"It should."

"Ok." Connor turned and headed for the hole in the floor.

Buffy heard a scream and ran in that direction. The dead people surrounded Dawn and her friends. The janitor attacked Dawn, who screamed, and said, "You can thank your sister for this."

Buffy entered the room and the dead guy came at her with a pipe. She pushed him away and kicked the janitor away from Dawn. "Thanks, sis." Dawn said.

"We just need to keep them at bay." Buffy said. "Connor's taking care of things." The dead people kept up their attack on Buffy and Dawn.

"The bag!" Dawn yelped.

Buffy scooped up the bag and started swinging it around her head, knocking the dead people away. The bag's strap ripped and Dawn tossed Buffy a pipe. "Do you really want to keep this up?"

"What're you going to do, kill us?" The janitor asked.

"Something like that."

Suddenly, they disappeared. "Are they gone?" The boy with Dawn asked.

"Yeah. Connor must've found the talisman and destroyed it."

"How'd you know it was a talisman?" Dawn asked.

"There's always a talisman. The real question is who put it there. C'mon, you guys, let's go find a way upstairs, assuming there is one."

"You really weren't kidding about this place. I guess it hasn't changed."

"I don't know. Seems smaller."

"Buffy!" Connor called. They made their way to the hole in the bathroom and found Connor waiting.

* * *

"You guys are gonna be ok." Buffy said to Dawn, Kit, and Carlos as they walked down the halls. "School is intense, but you'll do all right as long as you're careful. And you might want to think about sticking together."

"Thank you." Kit hugged Buffy.

"Yeah, I mean it." Carlos said. "You are the coolest mom ever."

Buffy played with her hair and muttered about it being mom-ish. Dawn saved her from further embarrassment by ushering her friends away. "Ok. Come on, we still have a few more classes to live through." Dawn kissed Buffy on the cheek, waved at Connor, and walked away with her friends.

The principal walked up to Buffy. "Curiouser and curiouser."

"What is?" Buffy asked.

"Carlos Trejo and Kit Holburn, right? Possibly the only two students in this school whose files are as thick as yours was."

"You really did your homework, didn't you?"

"I was looking for one or both of them to actually implode in a fearsome way right before midterms. And now I see that you got 'em socializing and hugging and actually, if I'm not mistaken, headed to class."

"Well, we shared an…. encounter."

"Look, I know you're probably more than happy to get out of this place. But I gotta tell you, Miss Summers, I think you belong here."

"Really?"

"Listen, I know this school's reputation. What, you think I got this job based on seniority? We got a lot of troubled students here, and just enough money to keep this place from caving in."

"Yeah, you might need a little extra there."

"Well, we do have a community outreach program. And the money we could pay you…. wouldn't even fold. But it would just be a couple of days a week."

"Are you asking me to be a counselor?"

"Well, we have a guidance counselor, but I was thinking the kids could use someone, you know, closer to their age who still…."

"I'm in!"

"What, you serious? You…. You did hear the part about the money, right?"

"Yeah, I heard. My schedule might be a little funtastic, but, uh, I'll work it out. I'd like to keep an eye on this place."

"Well, that's great. Look at that. It's not even noon, and I've already bullied my first family member into helping out. I'm going to be the best principal ever." He walked away and Buffy shot Connor a look.

"Well, isn't that…. Neat?" She said.

"So, was it like this all the time when you were in high school?"

"Worse. Back then I had to go to class…. And make sure my mom didn't find out I was the Slayer."

"I thought she knew."

Buffy started walking towards the exit. "Not until the night I got expelled from school. Which was when I killed Angel and ran away."

Connor shook his head. "Seems to me that this school thing is overrated."

Buffy laughed. "I've been saying the same thing for years, but nobody's listened to me." Connor held the door open for her and they walked out into the sunshine. "Wait till I tell Angel! He's gonna get a kick out of this."


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

Buffy sat at one end of the table, Connor sat to her right in the middle, Dawn to her left in the middle, and Angel sat at the other end of the table. They were enjoying a nice dinner together to celebrate Buffy getting a job. Angel had come down to Sunnydale after Buffy had called and told him the good news.

"You know, I just hope that I don't give bad advice." Buffy said.

"That's all you're hoping for?" Dawn asked.

"What else?"

"Oh, I don't know…. That the Hellmouth doesn't open up and swallow us all whole."

"Well, it'll do that sometime in the spring like it always does."

"And we'll stop it, right?" Connor asked.

"And we'll stop it like we always do."

"So, it runs on a schedule?"

"Not officially, no, but it seems like it bottles all that bad energy through the winter and then when spring or summer comes around, it blows its top."

"What do you think we can expect this year?" Dawn asked.

"There's no telling." Buffy looked over at Angel. "So, how's Cordelia doing?"

"She doesn't come out of her room much." Angel said.

"Any memories coming to her?"

"No. She's trying, though. I've heard her crying in there a couple of times."

"Shouldn't you be up there with her?" Connor asked.

"She's taken care of. Besides, I was glad to get out of there. Fred's physics essay got published and she's been asked to speak at some convention. I left Gunn to deal with her squeals and babbling. I love Fred, but I have no clue what language she's speaking sometimes."

Buffy laughed. "It's too bad Willow's not around. We could put those two in a room and study them."

"How is she doing?" Dawn asked.

"I talked to Giles the other day. He said she's doing better. Almost ready to come home."

"That's good."

Angel looked at Connor. "You'll like Willow."

"Where's she gonna stay?" Dawn asked.

"Good question." Buffy said. "I took her room, you've got yours, and Connor's got my old one."

"Maybe Xander can spare his second room."

"As much as Willow loves Xander, she wouldn't live with him."

"Didn't she say she wanted to go back to college?"

"Yeah."

"She'll probably get a dorm then." Dawn paused. "Or would she move into Tara's old apartment?"

Buffy shook her head. "I don't think she would do that."

"Yeah. Dumb thought."

After a moment's pause, Buffy sighed and looked at the table. "I don't know about you, but I know at least one person at this table who has school in the morning."

"Yeah, yeah." Dawn groaned.

"I'll clean off the table." Connor offered.

Buffy smiled and noticed Angel staring in astonishment. "Ok. We'll patrol tomorrow night, ok?"

"Sure." Connor stood up and started clearing the table.

Dawn stood up and gave Angel a hug. "It was great seeing you again."

"I'm not leaving tonight." Angel said.

"You're not?" Buffy and Dawn asked.

"I was going to stay in Sunnydale for a couple of days, if that was all right with you." He said to Buffy.

"Of course. Is it that bad in LA?"

"Trust me, I think Willow would run away in fear from Fred's constant giggles and nervous founts of energy."

Buffy laughed. "I'm sure Connor will be glad to show you his skills on patrol."

Angel waited until Dawn left and Connor was in the kitchen before he moved closer to Buffy and asked, "And what about you? Will you be happy that I'm here?"

She blushed and looked away. "Of course."

"Any idea where I could sleep?"

Buffy smiled and looked back at Angel's dark eyes. "I know a nice comfy place."

Angel smiled. "How comfy?" Before Buffy could answer, Connor walked back in the room. Angel switched topics quickly. "I'm proud of you Connor. You're doing good here in Sunnydale."

"Thanks." Connor said.

"What all has Buffy taught you?"

"She blindfolded me and threw things at me yesterday."

Buffy's eyes widened. "Giles did it to me!" Then she blushed profusely. "I meant…. It was a training exercise. Like, if you're in the dark, you need to know where your enemies are."

Angel smiled. "Did you catch anything?"

"Everything I threw at him. And he managed to throw everything back to me without missing."

"I hit her on the head with the rubber ball she threw at me." Connor said with a mischievous smile.

"Ok, that's only cause I wasn't paying attention." She looked at Angel. "I got distracted by the washing machine gushing bubbles because Dawn put too much soap in there."

Angel laughed and watched Connor leave the room again. "You've got him doing chores."

Buffy nodded. "We rotate. One person vacuums and dusts the whole house, one person cleans the kitchen and the bathroom upstairs, and one person does the laundry and takes out the garbage. And every night we rotate who does the dishes after supper."

"I'm proud of you Buffy. Your mother would be so proud of you too."

Buffy smiled and blushed. "Thank you. That means a lot."

"And now you've got a job and you don't have to rely on your father as much."

"That last part makes me happy."

"I bet it does."

Buffy heard the water running in the kitchen and Connor getting to work on the dishes. "Would you like a beer? We can go outside on the deck and hang out."

"Sounds good."

* * *

Later that night, Buffy was deep in a dream of a girl running for her life from an unseen enemy. She ran past night club patrons and blaring techno music. They caught her though, and just before she died, the girl turned to look at Buffy and said "From beneath you, it devours." Buffy shot up in bed, screaming

"Buffy! Buffy! Buffy!" Angel was shaking Buffy awake.

"I heard screaming."

"That was you." Angel said.

"There was a girl. It was…."

"Just a dream." Angel paused, knowing Buffy's dreams could sometimes be more. "It was just a dream, right?"

"From beneath you, it devours. That's what she said, and then they…. There's more like her, Angel. Out there somewhere." Buffy frowned and looked at Angel. "And they're gonna die."

The door opened and Connor poked his head in. "Is everything ok?"

"Buffy just had a dream. Go back to sleep, Connor." Angel said.

"Are you sure you're ok, Buffy?"

"I'm ok, Connor. Go on back to bed." He nodded and shut the door. They could hear him tell Dawn in the hallway that Buffy was ok.

"He still doesn't trust me." Angel said.

"Time, Angel. Time is all you can give him. He's coming around." She nodded. "He was asking about you yesterday."

"Really?"

"Mmm-hmm."

"What did he say?"

"He just asked when you were coming down. When I asked him why, he said he wanted to show you what he was learning."

"Really?" Angel smiled, but his face dropped into concern. "That's something, right?"

"Yes. It means he's starting to accept you into his life." Buffy smiled. "Hey, I go to work tomorrow for the first time. You and Connor will be here by yourselves. You can spend that time getting to know each other and bonding and what not."

Angel nodded with a grin. "Yeah. Hey, could you give me tips on what to do with him? What does he like to do?"

"He's recently gotten addicted to the game Life. He likes video games. He's been bugging me to show him how to use a sword…. I figured since you're the one who taught me, you could teach him."

"You didn't show him?"

"I thought you could show him."

Angel smiled. "I like that idea."

"His favorite food is Corn Pops cereal. He can eat almost five bowls for breakfast if you let him. Most days I do."

"Corn Pops. Anything else?"

"Uh, pizza. He loves pizza just like every other teenager in the world. He especially loves Bagel Bites. I got him some in the freezer. He knows how to make them just right, so if he wants some, ask him to show you how to make them."

"Ok." Angel wrapped his arm around her shoulders and brought her to him. She laid her head on his chest and pretended she could hear his heartbeat like before. "I'm so happy you two are so close. I don't know what he would be like if he hadn't have met you." Buffy smiled, but it was cut off by a yawn. "Come on." He laid down and pulled her to him again. "Sleep. I'll protect you no matter what."

* * *

The next morning, Buffy and Dawn had been surprised when they had walked downstairs to find the table set and Angel and Connor in the kitchen cooking breakfast. Angel had woken Connor up and asked if he wanted to learn to cook and surprise the girls. Connor had jumped at the chance to impress Buffy. Xander had showed up early to take Buffy and Dawn to school and had joined the big, fancy breakfast. Now they were all seated around the table talking and waiting until it was time to get going.

"Could you die?" Dawn asked. "Cause, seriously, speaking for everybody who are me at the table right now, we're very excited."

"Well, I'm glad for all of you then." Buffy said.

"I mean, it's just so cool. You're coming to school with me. You'll be, like, there the whole time." Dawn paused. "You understand you cannot talk to me, look at me, or hang out with any of my friends, right?"

"Look, I doubt we'll be seeing each other, assuming I even half-understand my fuzzy job description."

"It's not fuzzy. You're, what, dealing with troubled kids?"

"At a spanking new Hellmouth High." Xander said. "Please. Outside of drugs and violence and the unwanted pregnancy, and, uh, unleashing of hordes of Armageddon that comes pouring out of the school's foundation every now and then, what trouble could these kids have?"

"Guess I'll find out."  
"Those kids are lucky to be having a slayer and a friend on campus there for them." Angel said. "I hope they appreciate it."

"I know I did." Xander said, smiling at Buffy. "Days gone by, huh?"

"I thought you hated Sunnydale." Dawn said.

"Yes, and no, with an emphasis on the yes. But, at least then I was dating."

"You could be dating now." Buffy said.

"Yeah. Um, I don't know what's not clicking for me right now."

"Well, there's that thing with Anya."

"That leaving her at the altar thing?"

"Yeah, that one. That's not something you bounce right back from."

"Sure it is. She bounced back to being a vengeance demon, and I bounced back to being a dateless nerd."

"Do you guys talk at all?" Dawn asked.

"I've seen her at the Bronze a couple of times. I guess there's a lot of scorned women there, making vengeance wishes on their exes."

"I know that's where I go to get my scorn on." Angel said.

Dawn shook her head and looked at Xander and Buffy. "You guys need to really to ease up with the whole dating demons thing." She paused. "Present company excluded because, hello, Angel. He's the totally cool guy that makes dating demons totally cool."

"Thank you." Angel said.

"Look who's talking." Buffy said to Dawn.

"What?" Dawn asked.

"I'm sorry. Wasn't that you having the smooch-a-thon with teen vampire last Halloween?"

"See, this is why I don't want you talking to my friends."

"Afraid I'll show them pictures of you naked in a tub when you were two?"

"Maybe you being at school with me isn't so cool."

Buffy smiled. "I promise I'll try not to embarrass you too much."

Xander looked at his watch. "Well, I love to be the envy of the table when I say, 'ladies, let's blow this joint.'" He smiled broadly. "Sorry boys, the Summers women are mine until three this afternoon."

Buffy laughed. "Grab your bag Dawn."

"I'll clean off the table." Connor said.

"I'll help you." Angel said, getting up.

Buffy smiled and watched Angel carry dishes into the kitchen. "Connor, I want you to play nice with your dad, ok?"

He sighed. "I promise I'll try."

"Thank you. That's all I'm asking." Angel walked back in. "Have fun you two. Don't destroy the house…. Or each other while I'm gone."

Angel smiled. "Have a good day at work, honey." He mocked, holding two dirty dishes up like a poster for the 50s housewife.

Buffy laughed. "I'll see you boys when I get home."

As soon as the door was closed, Angel looked at Connor. "What do you say we clean this up later and play some video games?"

Connor looked at Angel surprised. "You know how?"

"I thought you could teach me."

"What about the dishes? Buffy'll get mad if they're not done before she gets home."

"Then we'll have them done before she gets home. We've got all day."

Connor nodded. "Ever play Crash Bandicoot?"


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

Buffy and Angel sat in the training room and talked about their day. Buffy had had an awkward first day dealing with the principal who she found creepy. Angel and Connor had had fun all day playing video games and sword training.

"He's a smart kid." Angel said. "He learns really fast."

"He sure does. He's picked up my fighting style without me even teaching him."

"I was thinking about taking him patrolling tonight. Would you come with us?"

"Of course."

"Buffy!" Xander called from upstairs.

Connor appeared at the top of the steps to the basement. "Um, you might want to come up here."

"Then again…." Buffy and Angel stood up and rushed upstairs. Xander had a woman with him that Buffy didn't recognize. She looked like she had been crying.

Xander shrugged. "I meet women in the strangest situations."

"What's going on?" Buffy asked, walking into the living room and sitting on the coffee table in front of the couch.

"This is Nancy. Her dog got eaten by a something that popped up out of the ground."

"And whatever it was, it was big and strong." Nancy said. "Stronger than…. I mean, I don't know how it's possible. You hear thing in this town, living here in Sunnydale, but nobody actually believes them. You know, you'd have to be crazy, and…. You guys think that I'm crazy, don't you?"

"I don't."

"We've seen things, too, Nancy." Buffy said.

"And we're going to take care of this. It's your lucky night…. considering, you know, your dog just got all ate up and stuff…."

"So, you say this thing just came up out of the ground without any warnings or signs or anything?" Angel asked.

"Just this kind of rumbling, you know, like just before an earthquake."

"From beneath you, it devours." Buffy said to Angel.

"What?" Nancy asked.

"Nothing." Angel said.

"Nothing good." Buffy clarified.

"Sounding monster-ific, all right." Xander said.

"Should we round up the gang?" Dawn asked.

"Good thinking, except…. this is the gang."

Buffy shook her head. "Look, Nancy, we're going to get into this. And I promise you, if your dog is alive, we're going to find him. The only thing that I need is a little…."

From the foyer, just outside the living room, a voice interrupted her. "What you need is help. Fortunately, you've got me." Buffy looked shocked to see Spike in her house, in front of her friends…. In front of Angel…. Standing next to the French doors. He was looking quite stylish with his newly bleached hair slicked straight back again and wearing new clothes. He seemed confident and lucid, which was the opposite of how she and Connor last saw him in the basement.

Spike, in turn, seemed shocked to see Angel sitting next to Buffy. "Buffy…."

Buffy got up and walked across the room, away from Spike, and looked out the window. Angel noticed and looked from Spike to Buffy. "What's going on?" He asked.

"Who is that?" Nancy asked.

"He's…." Dawn started. "It's Buffy's…." She stopped, realizing Angel didn't know and wouldn't like it.

"Ex." Xander said, always the one to skip tact.

"And I'm thinking it's a little more complicated than just that." Nancy said.

"Always is."

"Wait, what?" Angel asked.

Buffy had gotten herself together and turned around to face Spike. Her voice was cool and emotionless. "You've changed."

"I have." Spike said.

"New clothing. Better hair. Not so much with the crazy. I like it. Now what do you want?"

"Easy. If you think I like putting myself here, surrounded by people who don't particularly like me, you'd be wrong."

Xander stood up. "If you're uncomfortable, we can make you leave."

"I'll be quick." Spike looked at Buffy. "We need to talk. Want to do that here, or privately?"

"I'm thinking here, in the company of good friends and pointy weapons."

"You said something about quick?" Buffy asked.

"I did. Before I start, and for the record, the last you saw me…. I was a mess. Out of my head, admitted. Last week, living in the school basement, well, you saw me."

Dawn looked disapprovingly from Spike to Buffy and walked toward her. "You did?"

"Still waiting to find out what the hell it is I'm missing." Angel said.

"Guys, just a second, ok." Buffy said. "Yes, I saw Spike. I just didn't…."

"What? You just forgot to mention it?" Dawn asked.

"Things were insane in the basement. I saved your life. We can discuss this later."

"Sure."

"Whatever you want." Xander said.

"Right. Cause that seems to be the only time you let us in, Buffy. Whenever you want."

"Now, in fairness to Buffy…." Spike started.

"Shut up, Spike!" Xander yelled.

Buffy shook her head. "Ok, guys. Give us a second."

Spike turned toward the foyer again, and Buffy followed. Angel stood up and blocked her path. "Buffy…."

"Angel, I'll talk to you about all of this in a minute, ok? Right now, it's complicated."

"It's Spike."

"I told you I did something awful." She sidestepped him and walked into the foyer. "Do not start by saying you're sorry."

"I didn't come here to atone." Spike said.

"Then what the hell do you want?"

"I'm here to help you."

"Help me what?"

"I was hoping you'd tell me. You're the slayer." Buffy crossed her arms. "Connected to the visions. Long line of worthies, right? I'm just a guy with his ear to the ground, and even I can feel it. Something's coming. I don't know what exactly, but something's brewing. And it's so big, ugly, and damned it makes you and me look like little bitty puzzle pieces. I mean, if I'm wrong, say so. Lovely. No hard feelings. I'll go out that door and you can lock it behind me with any spell you like. So, am I wrong?"

"Everything about you is wrong, Spike." Spike took that as his cue to leave and began to walk out the door. "But something is coming."

"You're gonna need some help."

"I've got help."

"I noticed. What's he doing here?"

"His son is staying with me."

"He found the baby and you're playing mama protector cause he wasn't good enough to play papa?"

Buffy shook her head. "Shut up Spike. His son is a teenager now and he has some issues. If he stayed in LA…. I don't even want to think about how he would've turned out. And why am I even talking to you about it? Since when did you become the champion of the people?"

"I didn't. I'm just a guy who can lend a hand, if you'll let me. Ball's in your court, slayer."

Buffy went back into the living room ready to go and putting on her jacket. "Ok, we're gonna split. Whatever this creature is, it's burrowing through solid ground. That means a strength and power that we don't usually deal with, but we may have to get used to now that the Hellmouth is getting all perky." Buffy opened the weapons chest.

Nancy leaned over and whispered to Xander, "Shouldn't we call the police, or something?"

"And tell them….?" Xander asked.

"I'll stop interrupting."

"Xander, take Nancy home. Drive, don't walk, and try not to stop 'til you get there." Buffy said.

"Is your girlfriend always this…. commanding?" Nancy asked Xander.

"Who? Buffy?" Xander shook his head frantically. "Oh, no, no, no, no, no. See, uh, I mean, she's a girl, and she's a friend, but she's not my girlfriend."

"Xander…." Dawn said. Xander turned to face her. She gestured casually, brushing a finger on the side of her mouth. "A little drool." He turned back to face Nancy and smiled a nervous laugh.

Buffy held up a large dagger and a flashlight. "Angel, Connor, and I will check out the scene and then a patrol. Xander, take Nancy home."

"I'm command central, so everybody check in with me." Dawn said. "Ok, I'll be here doing my homework, but the other one sounded cooler."

"What about me?" Spike asked.

Buffy looked at him for a long moment then sighed. "I guess you can come with us."

"Whoa, uh-uh." Xander said. He pulled Buffy away from everyone. "I am not loving that. I am not loving Spike." He lowered his voice to a whisper. "He tried to rape you."

"And he failed. I know I can take him." She patted his arm. "Besides, Angel and Connor are with me." She looked at Dawn. "Be safe. Let's go."

"Righty-o, then." Spike said.

Buffy left the room with Angel and Connor. Spike started to follow, and passed Dawn, but she stopped him with a serious cold glare. "Spike. You sleep, right? You. Vampires. You sleep."

"Yeah. What's your point, niblet?" Spike asked.

"Well, I can't take you in a fight or anything, even with a chip in your head. But you do sleep. If you hurt my sister at all…. touch her…. you're gonna wake up on fire."

* * *

Buffy and Angel walked in front of Connor who was walking in front of Spike as they looked for the location where Nancy's dog was eaten. Buffy and Angel were talking quietly enough that Spike and Connor were oblivious.

"Is he the something awful?" Angel asked. Buffy looked away. "I honestly don't know what to think."

"Obviously, I don't either." Buffy retorted.

"What else?"

"What do you mean 'what else'?"

"There's something else. Something you and Xander were talking about."

"Angel, please. It's over with."

"I was hoping you would tell me instead of letting me hear it from Xander whispering to you." Buffy looked up at him. "Of course I heard what he said."

"He failed. I stopped him."

"It doesn't matter. He tried to…. Buffy, he should be ashes blowing in the wind right now."

Buffy shook her head. "What do you want me to say?"

"You're awfully chatty up there." Spike said. "I was half-expecting to get an earful from you. And when exactly did your sister get unbelievably scary?"

Buffy stopped walking and turned to look at Spike. "What are you doing?"

"What? I told you once, straight up, I'm here to help, and that's all." Before she could say anything, and before Angel could attack, Spike changed the subject and turned to look away from her at the broken sidewalk. "Think this here is our spot?"

"How'd you guess?" Connor asked sarcastically.

"I don't fancy sticking my head in there."

"Well, if something bites it off, that'd be a clue." Buffy said.

"Go on, Spike. Stick your head in." Angel growled.

Spike looked at Buffy and conceded to investigate the broken sidewalk further. He bent down on one knee with the flashlight to look inside the hole. "Hold the torch, would you?"

Spike held the flashlight toward her, but his hand and fingers were covering the shaft of the light in such a way that she couldn't take it from him without touching him. She took it from him and when they touched, she had an agonizing flashback of her screaming and struggling during his attempted rape. Buffy jumped and almost dropped the flashlight.

Angel took it from her and handed it back to Spike. He pulled her out of earshot. "Buffy…."

"Look, I can't blame you for being all skittish." Spike said, suddenly standing next to them. He had left Connor with the flashlight investigating the hole.

"Skittish? That's not a word I would use for it. You tried to rape me." Buffy snapped. "I don't have the words."

"Neither do I. I can't say sorry. Can't use forgive me. All I can say is: Buffy, I've changed."

"Changed?" Angel spat. "Changed into what?"

"Oh, back off. This is between me and the bird."

"No, Spike. It isn't. You gave up any hope of having a chance with her when you touched her that way."

Buffy held Angel back. "I don't know what your game is, Spike, but I know there's something you're not telling me."

"You're right. There is. But we're not best friends anymore, so too bad for me. I'm not sharing. We've been through things. The end of the world and back. I can be useful cause, honestly, I've got nothing better to do. Make use of me if you want. And there's nothing here. Just a bit of slime. Mounds of displaced dirt and such. Whatever our beastie is, he's gone." Spike walked off alone, back down the street in the direction from which they came.

Connor walked over to them. "Ok, what did I miss?"

"Nothing." Buffy and Angel said, looking away from each other.


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

Buffy, Angel, and Connor strolled through the graveyard looking for any signs of the undead or demons from hell. Anything would've been better than the uncomfortable silence between Buffy and Angel. Connor decided to move ahead of the two to get away from the awkwardness he felt around them. He was glad to be out of earshot of anything they had to say. Obviously it was a serious issue.

"What do you want me to say?" Buffy asked.

"I don't know." Angel said. They were silent for another minute before Angel blurted, "God, Buffy! It's Spike." She sighed. "Spike of all people." When she didn't say anything, he kept going. "Why didn't you come talk to me?"

"And what would that have solved? We'd still be in the same position."

"I could've helped you. We could've worked things out."

"You were busy with your life. You were busy with your son. There was no room for me."

"No room? Buffy, if you'd have come to me, I would've dropped everything to save you from that misery."

"Even your son?" He hesitated, which was enough for her. "I couldn't bring that misery into his life." She looked up at the stars, letting out a sad sigh. "You don't know how many times I started to go to you. But every time, I stopped myself. I stopped myself from ruining your son's life."

"You couldn't have ruined it anymore than I did."

"You didn't ruin his life, Angel. Holtz did when he took Connor from you."

Angel shook his head. "I can't be that angry with you, though."

"Why?"

"Because I stopped myself from coming to you." She waited, her brow furrowed in confusion. "I thought about coming to you over and over and asking you to be Connor's mother…. Or at least asking you for help in raising him. Maybe if I had, I could have saved you from your misery and we could've saved Connor from Quar-Toth."

"That's a lot of 'ifs'." She shook her head. "But it happened. All of it. And we can't change any of it as much as we both want to."

"I know." He stopped and grabbed her hand. "Tell me one thing, though. Do you love him?"

Buffy shook her head. "No. He was…. Convenient. He was there when I wanted someone and he was someone I could take my anger out on. I tried to stop a few times, but something in me clicked when Riley caught us together. I ended it…. Whatever 'it' was…. And that was it."

"When did he…." He couldn't bring himself to say it.

"Just before Warren shot Tara and me. I don't know what happened to him, but he didn't get to finish what he started."

"Did he hurt you?"

"I was already hurt."

"That's not what I asked."

"What could that possibly do except just make you angry?"

"I just want to know."

"Of course he hurt me. But it wasn't just physical. I let myself trust him. I let myself believe that he was a good person. That he was like you in some way. God, was I ever kidding myself." Her cell phone rang. "Hello? Yeah? Where? Ok, we'll meet you there." She hung up. "Xander knows what that thing is and how we can stop it. We're meeting him at the Bronze."

* * *

Connor, Buffy, and Angel met Xander and Nancy outside the Bronze. "She in there?" Buffy asked.

"Yeah. She's with a 'client'." Xander said. Buffy nodded and led the way in.

"See, honey, what I'm driving us towards here is sometimes, don't you just wish that…. Oh, penis!" Anya groaned as she saw Xander walk in with Nancy, Buffy, Connor, and Angel in tow.

"Is this the one you talked to?" Xander asked Nancy. She nodded.

"I tell you what, why don't we put a pin in it?" Anya said to the woman she was talking to. "Why don't you get yourself a drink, and we'll pick it up in a few, ok?" She glared at the four of them. "You guys, I am working here."

"We noticed." Buffy said. "That's why we're here."

"Riiiight. Did you turn this nice lady's ex into a giant worm-monster?" Xander asked.

Anya laughed. "Yes."

"No way. Are you saying that thing was Ronnie?" Nancy asked.

"You wish it, I dish it. I thought we were clear on this. I didn't think you were going to go all narc on me."

"You wished your ex was a worm?" Angel asked.

"Well, we were just talking." Nancy said.

"Anya has a way of making things happen." Xander explained.

"I had a quota; the guy had it coming." Anya defended. "What's the big?"

"I think I'm gonna be sick." Nancy said.

Buffy shook her head. "Anya, that thing you created burst through solid pavement and ate her dog."

"Ooh, puppy!" Anya cooed.

"Wait, that gets your sad noise?" Xander asked. "People's lives are in danger, and you give it up for the Yorkie?"

"You never understood me, Xander."

"Xander, who is this woman?" Nancy asked.

"Anya, she's, um, Anya. My ex."

"Oh."

"Hey, nobody's bragging here." Anya got up from the table and started to walk off, but suddenly Spike was there to stop her from leaving, grabbing her upper arms.

"Ah, ah, ah…." He said.

"Hey, hands off the merchandise. Spike, you don't get to go there again."

"Please. I've already forgotten about our little time together."

"I thought you were Xander's ex-girlfriend." Nancy said.

"I am." Anya said.

"But you and Spike…."

"Had a thing."

"Didn't last." Spike said.

Nancy looked at him. "But weren't you Buffy's…."

"Briefly."

"Never serious." Buffy said.

"Is there anyone here that hasn't slept together?"

"I haven't slept with anyone." Connor said.

"Good." Buffy and Angel said.

"Look, at least we're all bipeds, which is more than I can say for Ronnie, the worm boy." Anya said.

"Ok, guys, can we focus here for just a second?" Buffy asked. "Anya, this Ronnie. He wasn't a worm." She gestured three inches with her thumb and forefinger. "Worms are like this big." She gestured with her hands apart. "This thing was like…."

"Sluggoth demon. Am I right?" Spike said.

Anya rolled her eyes. "Maybe."

"Wait, I didn't wish for that." Nancy said. "I mean, I don't even know what this whatchamacallit demon thing is."

"Sluggoth demon. It's a very large, very nasty, natural predator who died around the crusades." Spike said.

"Same phylum." Anya said. "It's not cheating, I just embellished."

"Well, you can un-embellish now." Xander said.

"Bite me, Harris. I have rules to work with. Vengeance demon codes of conduct. But you'll never understand 'cause you're all still so…. human."

Spike stepped up to Anya and got in her face. "I'm not. Demon, just like yourself, Anya. Now, you're gonna turn the spell around like a good little vengeance demon or I…. what?"

Anya stared into Spike's eyes with a look of astonishment. "Oh, my God!"

"What are you staring at?"

"Oh, my God!"

"Right. Let's go." Spike tried to walk away, but Anya grabbed a hold of his forearm.

"How did you do it?"

"Spike, what is she talking about?" Buffy asked.

"I can see you."

"Nothing. Let's go. Got some worm hunting to do." Spike tried again to leave, but Anya was being insistent.

"How did you do it?"

"Shut up."

"You shouldn't be allowed to."

"Shut your mouth!"

"I mean, how did you get it?"

"I said you shut up!" Spike punched Anya in the face with his free arm. She fell to the floor and kicked Spike across the room. He landed on the pool table. When she got back up again, she was in demon face.

"I am so gonna kick your ass."

Spike got up off the pool table, fully ready to engage Anya in a fight. "Right, bitch. Round and round we…." But Buffy cut him off by grabbing his arm and turning him to face her. He was in demon face now.

"You haven't changed, Spike." Buffy said. She punched him in the face and he punched back. They continued to fight and it was clear that Buffy was angry. Spike wasn't helping, either. He was being an ass and goading her instead of fighting back.

"Working out some personal issues, are we?" Buffy punched and kicked him. "Hey, I guess this would be first contact since, uh, you know when. Ooh, up for another round up on the balcony, then?" She hit him again and he landed on the floor, laughing. "Right you are, luv. I haven't changed. Not a lick. And watching your face trying to figure me out was absolutely delicious."

"Buffy!" Xander called.

"Not now, Xander." Buffy snapped.

"Nancy. She's gone. And out there all alone, she's worm bait."

"I'll go find her. Stay with Anya. Get her to reverse that spell."

"Hey, is that it?" Spike called. "A little touchy-feely, and then you're off to the bat poles?" Buffy left the Bronze and Angel followed, stopping long enough to punch Spike in the face.

"Do you see her anywhere?" Buffy asked as they ran along rooftops.

"Help me! Help!"

"No, but I hear her." Angel said. "This way." They jumped over an alley and Buffy saw Nancy from the rooftop.

Nancy was trying to climb the ladder as the worm demon made another bang against the building's foundation, and Nancy fell off. Angel grabbed a cable and swung in from the rooftop on a rope, caught Nancy, and let go when they were over a cushioned place to land. Buffy jumped down and ran over. They walked around to assess the situation, but the worm demon came up out of the ground next to Buffy. She was about to attack it when Spike landed behind her and ripped a pipe off the wall.

"You've had your turn, luv. Leave the real violence to the demons, yeah?" He reared back with the pipe in hand and beat the worm demon with it. "That's right. Big bad's back, and looking for a little death!"

Then he stepped back dramatically, holding the pipe like a deadly spear and plunged it into the worm demon right as it turned back into the naked, vulnerable human, Ronnie. Ronnie and Spike screamed and Spike clutched his head. His face had a look of horror when realized what he had inadvertently done.

"Ronnie!" Nancy yelled.

"I'm sorry." Spike cocked his head and removed the spear from Ronnie. Buffy ran to Ronnie's aid with a blanket as Angel moved towards Spike.

Spike held the spear with both hands and looked at it, talking to himself. "Right. Wrong. All wrong. Wrong maneuver. Not hardly helpful. God, please help me. Help me!"

"You're not the one who needs help." Angel said.

"He's going into shock." Buffy said. She dialed 9-1-1 while Spike mumbled under his breath.

"No. No. Too much. Too much. Too much. Too much. Too much. Too much. Too much. Inside me all the way…."

"Yeah, I need an ambulance. Someone's been stabbed. Oh, God, uh, corner of Third and Fairview. Ok, help is coming. Try not to move."

Spike tapped his chest. "Deep, deep, deep inside me."

"Look, Spike, whatever you're doing…."

Spike jumped away from something that wasn't there. "Get away. Get. Uhh…."

"Do it somewhere else. I am through with this."

"Oh, oh, lucky girl. Call it quits. Now, there's an option. If only it were so easy. If only…. If only…. If only…." He stopped and looked at the wall. "What the hell are you screaming about? I can hear you. No need to SHOUT!" While screaming shout, Spike's voice and face changed into a scream of agony. He bent over in pain and then stood up and laughed, still holding the pipe. "I get it. The joke's on me. Lots of laughs." He twirled the pipe slowly, like a baton. "Yeah. Hey, bring the wife and kiddies. Come see the show 'cause it's going to be a circus. This…." He walked toward Buffy and kneeled in front of her. "Just the beginning, luv. A warm-up act. The real headliner's coming, and when that band hits the stage, all of this…. all this…. will come tumbling in death and screaming, horror and bloodshed. From beneath you, it devours. From beneath…." Spike started to cry and looked away. "Poor Rocky." At first, he was crying but then started to gag. He ran away down the alley, leaving them there with Ronnie and Nancy. Xander and Connor came running to them and Anya was following, sauntering slowly.

"Buffy!" Connor called.

"You. You did this. What are you?" Nancy ran away.

Buffy took off her jacket and folded it up into a pillow that she put under Ronnie's head.

"She's not calling me." Xander said.

Buffy stood and handed Xander her cell phone. "Ok. Help is on the way. Look after him."

Buffy ran off down the alley after Spike. Angel caught up with her at the end of the ally. "Where are you goin'?"

"Angel…. I have to…. Something's not right."

"I'm coming with you. It's not safe."

"I can take him."

Angel looked at her with dark, scary eyes. "Buffy, you don't know what he's capable of. I do. I'm the one that taught him."

After a moment, she nodded. Angel took her hand and followed Spike's scent. It led them to a chapel in one of the many cemeteries with lanterns lighting the front door. She let go of Angel's hand and headed toward it. Angel followed directly behind her.

There was an oval painting on the wall which was lit with moonlight streaming into the small chapel. It appeared to be a medieval painting of Mary holding baby Jesus and standing in front of a fringed white drape. Buffy and Angel walked through the front door. The chapel was set up with a dozen wooden pews arranged on either side of a central aisle. There was a large, simple, gothic crucifix at the front of the chapel that could be seen by looking directly down the central aisle. Buffy looked around and saw there were three stained glass arched windows on each sidewall of the chapel. She walked forward and jumped when Spike spoke to her from the shadows behind them.

"Hello."

"What the hell are you…." Buffy started, but Spike came out of the shadows, bare-chested, and holding his shirt out to her.

"It didn't work. Costume. Didn't help. Couldn't hide."

"No more mind games, Spike."

"No more mind games. No more mind."

Buffy reached for his chest, where the scars she had seen a few days before were healing. "Tell me what happened to you."

Spike flinched and recoiled violently. "Hey, hey, hey! No touching. Am I flesh? Am I flesh to you? Feed on flesh. My flesh. Nothing else. Not a spark. Oh, fine. Flesh then. Solid through." He started unzipping his pants. "Get it hard; service the girl."

Buffy was disgusted and smacked his hands away from his pants. "Stop it!"

Spike reflexively reached up and grabbed her by the throat. Angel grabbed his shoulder and threw him across the room. Spike landed on top of some pews, breaking them into pieces. He sat up a little, propped on his elbows behind him.

"Right. Girl doesn't want to be serviced. Because there's no spark. Ain't we in a soddin' engine?"

Buffy walked over to him. "Spike, have you completely lost your mind?"

"Well, yes. Where've you been all night?"

"You thought you would just come back here and…. be with me?"

"First time for everything."

"This is all you get. I'm listening. Tell me what happened."

"I tried to find it, of course."

"Find what?"

"The spark. The missing…. the piece that fit. That would make me fit. Because you didn't want…. God, I can't…. Not with you looking." Spike stood and walked away to a nearby window. He stood there, mostly in shadow, his body directed away from her. He looked back over his shoulder at her. "I dreamed of killing you." Keeping an eye on him, Buffy bent down to pick up a large splinter from the broken pews at her feet to use as a stake, if necessary. "I think they were dreams. So weak. Did you make me weak, thinking of you, holding myself, and spilling useless buckets of salt over your…. ending? Angel…. you should've warned me. You made a good show of forgetting, but it's here, in me, all the time." Angel finally understood. "The spark. I wanted to give you what you deserve, what he gives you…. and I got it. They put the spark in me and now all it does is burn. Why didn't you tell me it would burn?"

"Your soul." Buffy said.

"Bit worse for lack of use."

"You got your soul back. How?" Angel asked.

"It's what she wanted, right?" Spike looked at Buffy. "It's what you wanted, right?" He looked down and walked up the aisle towards the alter. "And…. and now everybody's in here, talking. Everything I did…. everyone I…. and him…. and it…. the other, the thing beneath…. beneath you. It's here too. Everybody. They all just tell me go…. go….to hell."

"Why?" Buffy asked. "Why would you do that….?"

"Buffy, shame on you. Why does a man do what he mustn't? For her. To be hers. To be the kind of man who would nev…. to be a kind of man." Spike walked toward the 6-foot-tall crucifix altarpiece at the front of the chapel. "She shall look on him with forgiveness, and everybody will forgive and love. He will be loved." He was standing only a foot away from the crucifix, staring at it. "So everything's ok, right?" Spike embraced the crucifix, resting one arm over each side of the cross bar, and resting his head in the corner of the vertex. His body was sizzling and smoke rose from where it touched the cross. "Can…. can we rest now? Buffy…. can we rest?"


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

Buffy stood in front of Angel as he leaned against his car, facing her. He held her hands and watched her face. "Are you going to be all right?"

"Yeah." Buffy said half-heartedly.

"I could stay longer."

"You need to get back to LA. If that spell of Lorne's works, you're going to need to be there for Cordelia." Angel nodded. "Angel?" He looked up into her eyes. "Is Spike going to be ok?"

He smiled sadly. "I don't know. He's got his soul. It took me years to come to terms with it. And then it took me even more years to try to deal with what I'd done as Angelus. I'm still dealing with it." Angel shrugged. "Who knows with Spike…. He wasn't exactly the most macho of men when he had a soul…. He may never come to terms with what his demon did."

"I wonder if it's got a loophole like yours."

"I don't know. You're not planning on putting that to the test are you?"

"No. No, of course not. Spike and I are long over with. It should've ended before it even started."

"I'll be in touch if you need me."

Buffy nodded. "Thank you for coming, Angel. Connor and I are both happy that you're making an effort for both of us."

"You're both worth it." Angel placed his fist under Buffy's chin and raised her face to look at his. "When you're ready, I'll be waiting."

Buffy smiled slightly. "I know." She leaned forward and gently kissed his lips. After a long moment, she pulled away and backed away one step.

"I'll call you." Buffy nodded. "Tell Willow I said hello."

"I will." Buffy watched as Angel got in his car and started it up. He looked back at her for a second and then smiled and drove off with a wave at Buffy's old window. Buffy turned back to the house and saw Connor flick the curtains shut really fast. She smiled and knew he had been waving goodbye to his dad.

* * *

"You're going to love Willow." Buffy said to Connor. "I promise." They were standing at the airport waiting for Willow to come home from England. Giles had called the night before and left a message letting them know she was coming back. Buffy had called Giles that morning and gotten all the details of the flight and of Willow. Xander held a big sign with the words "Welcome Back Willow" written in yellow crown. The people onboard the plane were slowly disembarking.

"You think she'll get the sign?" Xander asked.

"Get the sign? I don't think she's gonna see the sign." Buffy said.

"Why is it so pale?" Connor asked.

"I used yellow crayon." Xander said proudly. "It was a thing from when I talked to Willow on the bluff. I hope she gets it."

"Oh, tell us again what you said." Dawn said.

"Well, I was talking from my heart and I knew Evil Willow wasn't really ready to…. You were kidding."

"Mm-hmm. A little bit."

"We've heard the crayon speech a few times." Buffy said. "Not that it's not great, of course."

"I saved the world with talking from my mouth. My mouth saved the world." Xander said.

"Uh-huh. I'm getting nervous." Dawn said. "Are you nervous?"

"Yeah." Buffy agreed. "It's gonna be weird seeing her. What do you say to someone in this situation?"

"I'm gonna say 'Hi, Willow.'" Xander said.

"C'mon. You're saying it's not going to be the least bit strange? We saw her kill someone. She was about to kill Dawn…."

"And Giles wouldn't let her leave unless she completed that whatever recovery course."

"Right." Dawn said. Buffy smiled guiltily. "Right?"

"She kinda didn't finish." Buffy said.

"She didn't finish? She didn't finish being not evil?"

"H-he said it was really important that she come back early and that she was doing really well and we shouldn't worry."

"Guys, I just noticed something." Xander said. "Everyone's off the plane, so where's Willow?"

"You said she had bright red hair, right?" Connor asked. Buffy nodded. "I saw some girl walk that way with red hair."

"What?"

"Yeah. She was standing right there looking around, but then she walked that way." Connor pointed towards the exit.

* * *

Buffy, Connor, Xander, and Dawn came home and entered through the front door, talking about Willow.

"Are you sure you didn't see the girl with red hair again?" Buffy asked Connor.

"Yeah." Connor said. "She must've gone into the bathroom or something."

"Well, they absolutely put her on the plane in London."

"So, she got off in Chicago when they stopped?" Xander asked.

"She could've caught a flight anywhere from there." Dawn said.

Buffy crossed her arms. "Maybe she doubled back. Got off the plane in London after Giles left."

"Well, if she's doing that…. ducking Giles…. then, she's evil, right?" Connor asked.

"Well, I've avoided Giles tons of times. Just meant I was lazy, not evil." Xander said.

"I hope you're right, because defeating Lazy Willow…. probably less hard." Buffy said.

"We should check the messages." Dawn said. "See if she tried to reach us here."

"Good idea."

Dawn headed into the living room to check the messages while Buffy went into the kitchen to call Giles. After a few minutes, they all reconvened in the living room.

"She didn't leave a message." Dawn said.

"I checked with Giles again, too. Hasn't heard from her." Buffy said.

"Is he throwing a tasteful British wiggins?" Xander asked.

"Oh, with extra wig. He's blaming himself pretty hard, like he should've known she wasn't ready to come back. I-I kept telling him, you know, it wasn't his fault. Maybe something about us she couldn't face."

"Like she didn't think we were ready to forgive her? I get that."

"So Giles is blaming Giles, and we're blaming us." Dawn said. "Is anyone gonna blame Willow? Oh, don't give me shock face. I mean, will anyone around here ever start asking for help when they need it?"

"Look, if Willow flipped out, it's her bad." Buffy said. "We can only be here for her so much if she won't be, you know, here."

Xander looked at Connor. "What did that red-headed girl look like?"

"Like that girl in the pictures with Buffy. Like Willow."

Buffy shook her head. "It couldn't have been her. She would've seen us. We would've seen her."

Connor shrugged. "You know, maybe she was just some girl who looked a lot like Willow. It could happen, right?"

Xander nodded. "Yeah. It could happen."

"But if it was Willow, maybe she did some sort of spell or something to keep us from seeing her at the last minute…." Dawn said.

"She wouldn't do that." Buffy said. "Would she?"

* * *

Buffy sat at her desk at school twirling a pencil between her fingers. She wasn't talking with the kids yet, so she was pretty much left with pencil twirling or internet surfing. And even that wasn't much fun because a lot of websites were blocked due to the school's firewall to keep students from looking at anything that didn't have to do with learning.

She dropped her pencil when her phone rang. "Hello? Hey Xander. Really? I'll be right out." Buffy hung up, grabbed her coat, and rushed outside to meet Xander. He drove her over to his construction sight and took her down into the pit to show her the body they'd found.

"No skin." Buffy said.

"Tough to look at." Xander commented.

"And yet my eyes refuse to look away. Stupid eyes."

"I found it first thing this morning. I gave my crew the day off, and I called you right away."

"I got to get a job where I don't get called right away for this stuff."

Xander wiped his mouth. There was a clanking noise coming from behind him. When Xander turned to look at the noise behind him, he only saw an empty ladder. He turned back to look at the dead person, and continued talking to Buffy. "Yeah, I know exactly what you're thinking. Maybe Willow is back."

Buffy shook her head. "I don't want to think that."

Xander and Buffy made their way through the basement looking for Spike. "We can't use the blueprints to find our way around down here. It's like the walls move or something." Xander said.

"Out! This is my place." They heard Spike yell.

"I think I hear him." Buffy said.

"You need permission to be here. You need a special slip with a stamp." Buffy and Xander followed his voice and opened a door to the area where Spike was pacing back and forth, apparently talking to himself. "And put your heart back in where it fell out. You call yourself finished, but you're not. Worse than ever, you are…." Spike stopped pacing and stood still with his head tilted down a little.

"Spike. Spike." Buffy said.

He walked forward with a confused expression on his face. In an entirely different demeanor, more restrained and calm, he started talking again to Buffy. "You went away. You've been gone since…."

"The church. You scared me a little. I didn't…. I didn't know what to think."

"We're here for a reason, Spike." Xander said.

"Tragedy." Spike turned and faced away from Xander and Buffy. "Is there blood?"

"He knows. He must have seen the body."

"You did it once. I heard about it."

"Spike, we need to know who did this." Buffy said.

Spike smiled sweetly all of a sudden and walked forward several steps and started talking again. "Look at you…. glowing. What's a word means glowing? Gotta rhyme."

"Spike, please…."

"I-I-I should hide. Hide from you. Hide my face. You know what I did."

"Boy, he's extra-useful today." Xander said.

"This isn't the time." Buffy hissed at him.

"Everyone's talking to me. No one's talking to each other." Spike said as he turned to face over his right shoulder suspiciously.

"Might as well go."

Spike started pacing slowly and stepped behind one of the bookcases, talking to himself as Buffy and Xander started walking away. "Someone isn't here. Button, button…. who's got the button? My money's on the witch." Buffy and Xander stopped in their tracks and turned around to face Spike again. "Red's a bad girl."

"He's talking about Willow."

"And that means something because he's chock-full-o-sanity." Xander quipped.

"Maybe he saw her."

"They think you did it. The slayer and her boy. They think you took the skin." Spike said to the air.

"Is there something here? Something that killed?"

"Her boy? I'm her boy?" Xander scoffed.

Spike walked up to Xander and Buffy. "I have to go. There are things here without permission. I have to check their slips. Make sure they have authorization." He walked away, deeper into the basement.

"Well, that was about as useful as a Twinkie without the cream filling."

"Come on. I need to get back to work. We'll start searching for demons when I get home."

* * *

Dawn, Connor, Buffy, and Xander sat around the dining room table doing research. Buffy had several books open in front of her and Connor, while Dawn was surfing the Internet on her laptop. Xander had a book in his lap.

"Ok, so I looked up demons that skin their victims and demons that flay their victims cause, you know, same thing." Dawn said. "There's a ton of prospects. Anything else gone? Uh, eyeballs, toenails or viscera? That's guts."

"She knows about viscera. Makes you proud." Buffy said.

"Just skin." Xander clarified.

"Ok, I'll work on that." Dawn said.

Buffy sighed and stood up, walking to a corner of the room. Xander followed. "What's up?"

Buffy shook her head. "I need to do something. I just…. I have this feeling in my gut…."

"In your viscera!"

"That we know exactly who did this. And all of this work that we're doing is just a way for us to convince ourselves that Willow's ok."

"Oh, guys!" Dawn gestured for them to come over to her. "I got a good one. A demon called Gnarl. He's a parasite with these nasty long fingernails. He secretes something through them and uses that to paralyze his victims. He then cuts strips of their skin while they're still alive. It takes hours."

"We didn't find any strips of skin." Xander said, shuddering. "Which, by the way, gghhhh!"

"You wouldn't. He eats them. That's why he's a parasite. It's like his natural food."

Buffy patted Dawn's shoulder. "Dawn, you're new at this, and I get why you're proud, but I'm not exactly sure why this demon is any more likely than any of the others."

"You never said pool of blood."

"There was no pool, just splatters."

"Then this is your guy. He laps up the blood. You could say it's like his natural beverage."

"You're terrifying." Connor said to Dawn.

"Now if we just knew how to find this thing."

"Well, we could ask some questions over at Willy's place." Xander said.

"Or, we could be smart. Sorry, Xander." Buffy said.

"What?"

"W-whoever did this had to get blood on them, which means they left a trail."

"Right, minute traces of blood." Dawn said.

"And we have a way to track it."

"We have a…. Oh, I get it."

"What? How?" Xander asked. "What's going on?"


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16

Buffy, Connor, Xander, and Dawn followed Spike through the woods. He was ahead of them, mumbling to himself. "William's a good boy. Carries her water, carries her sin. Supposed to get easier, isn't it. Supposed to help, but it doesn't. Still so heavy."

"Should've put a leash on him." Xander said.

"Yes, let's tie ourselves to the crazy vampire." Buffy said.

"You really think it's gonna work?" Connor asked.

"It's pretty easy. Spike follows the exciting smell of blood, and we follow the fairly ripe smell of Spike."

"It's smellementary." Dawn said. "Also, I'm sure there's tons of stuff like this. You know, procedures we can use that don't involve magic spells. Just good solid detective work. And we can develop a database of tooth impressions and demon skin samples and I could wear high heels more often."

"Wow, that was so close to being empowered."

"Everybody loves a slender ankle."

Spike had stopped walking and was standing still staring through the bushes at a rock cliff. "That's it. End of the line. Everyone off." Spike turned to Connor. "Keep your ticket, you'll need that."

"That's a rock cliff." Connor said.

"Well, give him a break, Connor." Xander said. "Maybe it's a vicious skin-eating rock cliff."

"There's a cave in it. Look." Spike pushed the bush aside and looked at Buffy. "I'm insane. What's his excuse?" And with that, Spike wandered off.

Buffy looked at the others. "Shall we go in?"

"Sure." Connor said. He looked over at the rock cliff and noticed a figure climbing into the cave. "Hey…. There's someone over there."

"Could be our demon." Xander said.

"Let's find out, shall we?" Buffy led the way to the cave entrance. "Ok, Connor and Xander, I want you two watching the entrance to the cave."

"Ok."

"Why?" Connor asked.

"Just in case that wasn't our demon or we miss it in there and it tries to escape." Buffy said.

"Oh. Ok."

Buffy and Dawn climbed in the cave and looked around. It seemed empty at first, even though there was light from a fire.

"Dark and dank. How homey." Dawn said.

"Shh! Do you hear that?" Dawn hissed.

"Something's moving in here."

"Guess we're in the right place."

"Look at the shorn lamb." A creepy, Hannibal Lecter voice echoed. "See how he trembles. Is it the cold wind? Or is it that the flock is nowhere to be seen? Poor little lamb all alone."

"You hear that, right?" Dawn asked.

"It's echoing." Buffy said. "I know it sounds close, but I don't think…." Gnarl jumped out suddenly and scratched Dawn before leaving again. "Dawn! Are you OK?"

"I guess so." Dawn uncovered her stomach to show a large gash across it. "Poison paralyzes."

"Dawn. Ok, we need to get you out of here. We'll deal with him later." Buffy carried Dawn out of the cave and looked at Connor and Xander. "Seal him in."

Xander and Connor started tossing rocks and boulders over the entrance to the cave. As soon as it was sealed, Xander and Buffy carried Dawn between them, with one of her arms around each of their necks. Connor followed beside Buffy.

"The computer." Buffy said. "That thing Dawn was reading might have an antidote for the paralysis."

"Um, Buffy?" Dawn mumbled through her paralyzed lips.

"What?"

"I'm really sorry."

"Oh, it's ok."

"You couldn't help it. It had paralyzing fingernails." Xander said.

"Just like you said it would, so good on you."

"Buffy?" Connor asked.

"Yeah?"

"I can carry her. It'd be a lot faster."

She nodded. "Good idea." Connor scooped Dawn into his arms much like Angel used to do to Buffy when she was half asleep after patrol. Dawn squeaked a little and Buffy noticed that she blushed.

Xander huffed a little and said, "I could've done that."

* * *

They made it to the house and Buffy opened the door for Connor. "Ok, watch the head."

"Watch my head. Watch my head!" Dawn mumbled.

"Sofa." Xander said.

Connor put her down on the sofa, but she rolled over face-down in the pillows. "Face up! Face up!"

"She's right, face up is better." Xander said.

"Ok, I'm gonna check the computer." Buffy said. "Find that page. See if there's an antidote."

"It'll be all right." Xander patted Dawn's head. "We'll get you fixed up. You'll be doing limbo in no time."

"Yeah, as a pole." Dawn mumbled.

"No, not as a pole. I promise."

"What's limbo?" Connor asked.

Xander scoffed for a second before he remembered that Connor had grown up in a hell dimension. "It's this crazy party game that tests your flexibility and balance. Two people hold this pole and everyone else lines up and goes under the pole. After everyone in the line goes, they lower the pole."

"Why?"

"So the people who're flexible and well-balanced can laugh at the ones who aren't."

"Why?"

"Because they usually end up falling in funny ways."

"Oh, got it." Buffy said from the other room. "It says the paralysis is permanent." Dawn squeaked. "No, oh, wait, my bad. Permanent until the creature dies. Sorry." She walked back into the living room. "Guess we have to go back."

"We can't just leave her here like this. What if she vomits?" Xander asked.

"Ew. I won't vomit." Dawn mumbled.

"Do you think she'll vomit?" Buffy asked.

"Stop talking about vomit."

"I'll call Anya. She can watch her."

"Right, she'll love being called for vomit watch." Xander said as Buffy picked up the phone and dialed.

"What would happen if she vomited?" Connor asked.

"She could drown in it."

"Stop talking about vomit." Dawn mumbled.

* * *

A few minutes later, Anya showed up and poked at Dawn for a minute. "I bet she's dying." She said.

Buffy handed Connor an axe. "She's not dying. She's just paralyzed."

"Oh. Paralyzed how?"

"Paralyzed how? In the not moving way." Xander said.

"Well, there's lots of different ways. Did you try this?" Anya took Dawn's legs and lifted them up ninety degrees, bending her at the waist so her legs didn't fall back down.

"Hey!" Buffy said.

"Oh! You're poseable." Xander said.

"She's poseable?"

"It's a common variety. Watch this." Anya rearranged Dawn so that she was sitting on the couch upright. "Huh. Neat as you please. Hardly a need to undo her."

Buffy noticed the jar of nuts on the table and munched on a few. "Where'd you get the nuts?"

"Brazil. No need to thank me, by the way, for sitting with her. I'm feeling very benevolent today. Helping Willow. Helping you. You might even call it even for that whole worm thing last week."

"Yeah, I don't think we could call…. Wait, you saw Willow?"

"Um-hmm. Oh, she's looking for you, by the way. Decided you might be out in some cave. Sounded pretty tenuous."

"Cave?" Dawn mumbled.

"Anya, listen. This is really important. Did Willow go to that cave?" Buffy asked.

"Mm-hmm. Last time I saw her, that's where she was headed. Shall I make her salute? That'd be very cute." Anya said.

"She could be there right now. Willow could be trapped with the Gnarl."

"Uh, it's not The Gnarl, just Gnarl. Oh, wouldn't it be tragic if you were here being kinda silly with your comically paralyzed sister while Willow was dying?"

Buffy walked over to Anya, with a battle-axe in hand. "Anya, you know about this creature?"

"Uh-huh, sure."

"You're coming with us." Buffy handed the battle-axe to Anya as Anya finished posing Dawn in a two-finger salute. She patted Dawn on the head and walked off. Dawn grunted with displeasure. Buffy, Connor, and Xander walked out as well, but Buffy ran back in to place the remote in Dawn's posed hand before leaving again.

Anya looked at Connor. "Boy, you've really gotten into the inner circle, huh?"

"I guess." Connor shrugged.

"Is your daddy proud of you?"

"I don't care."

"You're just like him, you know. Or from as far as I can tell you are. I only met him once or twice. Very broody and stoic and he glares a lot. Like you."

Connor nodded and moved up to run with Buffy. "Don't mind Anya." Buffy said, patting his shoulder. "She's never understood the word tact."

Connor shook his head as they burst into the woods. "I don't either."

"It means she's blunt."

"Oh."

"Anya, you gotta keep up." Xander called behind them.

"Uhhh! I'm out of shape. I've been teleporting for months." Anya said.

"Hurry!" Buffy yelled.

They made it to the cave and Buffy and Connor started hauling the rocks and boulders away from the entrance. Buffy burst into the cave first and Gnarl leapt up. Buffy tried to cut him with her sword, but Gnarl screeched and hid. Connor dove in with Xander and Anya right behind him.

"What's going on? Where's Willow?" Xander asked.

"She's right here. Can't you see her? She's hurt!" Anya said.

"It's the girl from the airport." Connor said. "This is Willow?" Anya nodded.

"What? Where?" Xander felt around with his hand. "There's nothing here."

"Your hand…. it's going right through her. What's going on?" Anya asked.

"I don't know, but I'm starting to get why we haven't seen her." Buffy said.

"Because we haven't seen her." Xander clarified.

"I have this feeling that whatever's causing this invisible thing is a whole separate issue from the skin-eating monster."

"Behind you!" Connor called. Gnarl tried to scratch Buffy, but Connor pulled her backwards and Gnarl missed, getting only her shirt and not her skin.

"Close one." Buffy said. Gnarl had a sword now, and Buffy had a dagger. Connor still had his axe. The three of them exchanged blows and alternated swipes at each other.

"Remember what I said." Anya called. "Get him in the eyes. Willow, I'm here. Wow, you're really hurt." She paused. "Buffy's fighting the demon over there with Connor, see. But if they get too close, I'm gonna have to run." She paused again. "But they're here. Buffy and Xander. And Angel's son Connor." Pause. "Yes. Buffy's babysitting him."

"I am not." Buffy said, dodging a swipe.

"No, they didn't leave you. They can't see you." Anya said. "Good. You're doing really good."

Buffy and Gnarl were still fighting. Gnarl leapt over Buffy's head and landed behind her. She turned and stabbed his foot with her dagger when he landed, pinning him to the ground. He screeched and flailed, throwing him off guard. Connor grabbed his arms and held him in a tight lock while Buffy grabbed his head with both hands and plunged her thumbs into his eyes.

"Ew. Ew. Thumbs?" Xander groaned. "I can't believe you did that."

"Oh, Buffy killed the demon. It was gross." Anya said to Willow.

"Willow? Are you here?" Buffy asked, running over to where Anya was kneeling.

"Where is she? Is she alive?" Xander asked.

"She's right here." Connor said.

"Ok, stand back." Anya shoved Xander away. "You're getting your feet in her."

"Willow?" Buffy said quietly.

"She's hurt really bad, you guys. I'm gonna go get help." Anya left the cave.

"I think she's sort of here-ish." Xander said.

"It's ok." Connor said to Willow. "They're here. I'm Connor, by the way."

"Willow? W-we can't exactly see you, but we're really glad that you're back. I-I don't know how badly you're hurt, but…." Willow appeared on the ground in front of them, also in mid-sentence.

"Is that Willow?" Xander asked.

"I couldn't find you guys and I looked everywhere. And the demon said that you left me and…. Oh, there you are. There you are! Don't go away." Willow said.

"We're not going away. Oh, God." Xander said.

"It's gonna be ok, Willow. You're gonna be ok." Buffy got down and held Willow's hand as tears welled up.

"I know. You're here." Willow said, giving Buffy's hand a little squeeze.

* * *

Willow sat sitting on Connor's bed in her pajamas meditating. Connor had given up the room until Willow got her dorm room. He was sleeping on a cot in Buffy's room. Buffy walked up to the doorway, saw her, and decided not to interrupt her. Willow opened her eyes. "Buffy…."

"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to interrupt." Buffy said.

"That's all I had left in me anyway."

"I didn't realize meditating was such hard work."

"I'm healing. Growing new skin."

"Wow. That's magic, right? I mean, when most people when they meditate don't get extra skin, right. Cause Clem should, like, cut back." Buffy sat on edge of bed.

"It's magic. I'm drawing power from the earth to heal myself."

"We're on the second floor."

"You know Giles says everything's part of the earth. This bed. The air. Us."

"Explains why my fingernails get dirty even when I don't do anything."

"Plus you stuck your thumbs in a demon."

"True." Willow leaned back, obviously exhausted. "You're wiped out. I-I should go."

"No. Please stay. I missed you so much when I couldn't find you."

"We missed you too. I missed you. Dawn's, uh, working on what caused the mutual no-see-ums, but so far we haven't…."

"I did it."

"You did a spell?"

"I didn't mean to. I-I just remember thinking I wasn't ready to see you guys yet. I was afraid we wouldn't, you know, connect."

"So, you made it happen just by thinking it?"

"Guess I have a ways to go before I master my powers, huh?"

"It's ok. As long as you're all right."

"It's nice to be forgiven. Too bad I need so much of it."

"I have a confession to make. I thought it might be you. With the flaying."

"I know."

"I wanna be the kind of person that wouldn't think that. Xander never thought it."

"He did, a little. Heck, I did a little. Xander has the luxury of not saying it, but you're the Slayer. You have to say stuff like that. It's ok. It's ok too if you still don't think I can recover from this magic stuff, cause, honestly, I'm not that sure about it either."

"I really am glad you're back."

Willow smiled. "So, what's up with Connor?"

"What do you mean?"

"I haven't heard the whole story. Just bits and pieces from Giles."

Buffy smiled. "He ran away from LA at the beginning of the summer and ended up here. I didn't know who he was for two months. It didn't even click with me until I found him in the basement with pictures of Angel that I had. He was so angry. A big part of him still is. He doesn't like Angel because of what Holtz raised him to believe, but I think he's coming around in a big way."

"Why did you let him stay here?"

"If he stayed in LA, Angel would've never gotten Connor to believe in him. To believe that he does love him and that Holtz was wrong about Angel. Here, with me, he can see the good we're doing. I can take him under my wing and teach him and guide him…."

"And love him?"

"And love him. That's really the big thing he needs is love."

"What kind of love are we talking about?"

"Motherly."

"And Angel?" Buffy smiled the smile that Willow recognized a mile away. "You two are getting back together?"

"No. Not right now, anyways. We talk. And we flirt. But we're not together."

"What does Connor think?"

"He doesn't like the fact that I want a relationship with Angel and not him. But, he's got to learn to deal with it. I mean, I changed his diapers. I held him when he was a baby. I sang him to sleep and tucked him into his crib only a few months ago."

"You feel like his mother."

"Yes."

"He'll learn to see you that way too and accept your relationship with Angel."

"I don't want that to happen." Buffy paused. "I mean, I do, but I meant…. I want him to accept Angel as his father before he accepts anything else."

"I'm sure he will." Willow leaned forward again, sighing, to began meditating again.

"I thought you were too tired."

"It hurts too much not to try."

"I'm sorry."

"It just takes so much strength. I don't have that much."

Buffy scooted forward and took Willow's hands. "I got so much strength, I'm giving it away."

"Are you sure?"

"Will it help?"

"Much."

"Good." Buffy closed her eyes and let Willow heal herself through Buffy's strength.


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter 17

"You did good work on her. She looks good."

"Thanks. She's all set for the service tomorrow."

"Good. All right then. I'll see you in the morning."

"G'night."

They turned the light off on their way out and shut the door. There were several other closed coffins in the room. A few seconds later, one of the other coffins opened, and Buffy climbed out with a flashlight then Connor climbed out of another coffin.

"Hey." He said.

Buffy jumped. "Sorry."

"33 minutes. Do you always go through all this trouble for one vampire? One POTENTIAL vampire?"

"Vampire by vampire. It's the only way I know how."

"Sorry. I wanna help. I wanna learn. I guess I've been a bit stressed out lately."

"No big. Been kinda stressed myself. There's Willow. There's the looming humongo bad. And it's a school night. I should be home in bed, cuddled up to my insomnia, and worrying about how I'm gonna mess up tomorrow."

"You'll be fine. You'll be a great counselor."

"It's my first week actually talking to the kids. What if their problems are all weird and tricky?"

"This job sounds perfect for you."

"Check out perfect me." Buffy walked toward a casket and Connor followed her. She shined the flashlight in the dead woman's face, inspecting her.

"I don't know." Connor said, inspecting her. "Amateur opinion here, but she looks dead. I mean like natural causes dead."

"The paper said she had unusual cuts and contusions on her neck." Buffy shone the flashlight on the dead woman's neck and right below her pearl necklace there were two puncture wounds that had been stitched up.

"Maybe she cut herself shaving and then died naturally of embarrassment."

Buffy laughed. "You've been hanging out with Xander too much."

She handed Connor the flashlight as he said, "She looks…."

"Peaceful."

The woman in the casket opened her eyes and they were yellow. "I am not peaceful."

"That, I can help with." Buffy took out a stake and plunged it into the lady's heart, turning her into dust. "I always thought closed caskets were more tasteful anyway." She closed the lid to the woman's casket.

"Do we have to go to LA this weekend?" Connor asked suddenly.

"Of course. We promised your father we would." She looked at him hard. "Why?"

"I don't know. I like it down here. I feel more in control of myself here."

"And you don't in LA?"

"It makes me feel small and insignificant when I know I'm not. I know I'm part of something bigger and better and to me, it feels like LA is…."

"Hopeless?" Connor nodded. "A lot of people feel that way. Generally that's why people run away to LA because it fits how they feel."

"How do you know that?"

"Because I was hopeless once."

Connor smiled. "And you said you wouldn't be good at this job."

* * *

Buffy, Connor, and Xander were gathered around Willow who was at her laptop on the table. Buffy had talked to a student named Cassie Newton who had told her that she wasn't going to graduate because she was going to die. She wouldn't tell Buffy why or how, so Buffy was doing some digging on the girl.

"Cassie's records all show the same thing." Buffy said. "Good grades, good kid, then all of a sudden not so good grades, absenteeism, comments about apathy and depression…."

"So, the question is, what changed?" Xander asked.

"Right. If she did have some sort of psychic vision, that would explain it."

"Do you really think this girl is some kind of precog?" Willow asked.

"Oh, I don't know. I told you about the shirt, right?"

"Buff, you spilled a cup of coffee. I'm not saying you don't have Slayer grace, but it's not the first time." Xander said.

"I mean maybe, just maybe, you're trying so hard to help that you're seeing paranormal when there's just normal." Willow said.

"Maybe." Buffy agreed. "But maybe not."

"Want me to check her medical records?"

"Her doctor already sent them." Buffy handed the file to Xander, who flipped through it.

"Let me see that. Strep throat. Ear infections. Yeast infections. None of my business…. No real info here."

"Have you googled her yet?" Willow asked.

"Willow, she's 17."

"It's a search engine. Look. Ok, let's see what Cassie Newton pulls up. Hey, look. Check this. She's got her own site."

"A day and a half of researching, and we finally try looking up her." Xander said.

Cassie's website was artsy and eccentric. The graphics resembled a collage of words cut from magazines pasted together. "Wow, that's a lot of poems." Buffy said.

"Poems. Always a sign of pretentious inner turmoil."

"The sheets above me cool my skin like dirt on a mad woman's grave; I rise into the moonlight white and watch the mirror stare; Pale fish looks back at me; Pale fish that will never swim; My skin is milk for no man to drink; My thighs unused; unclenched; This body is not ready yet; But dirt waits for no woman and coins will buy no time; I hear the chatter of the bugs; It's they alone will feast." Connor read. "Wow, death is really on her brain."

"We all deal with death." Dawn said, walking in the door.

"This girl isn't just dealing, she's giving death a long, sloppy word-kiss. She has a yen for the big dirt-nap." Xander said.

"I don't know." Willow said. "I mean, a lot of teens post some pretty angsty poetry on the web. I mean, I even posted a melodramatic love poem or two back in the day."

"Love poems?"

"I'm over you now, sweetie."

"Love poems!"

"Look, all I'm saying is that this is normal teen stuff. You join chat rooms, you write poetry, you post Doogie Howser fan-fic. It's all normal, right? Let's see what other sites there are."

"You guys are way off track. I got a hunch on this one." No one acknowledged Dawn. They were just looking at the laptop.

"Oh, wait, no, here's something. No, that's Philip Newton."

"No, that's her dad. Open it." Buffy said.

"Guys, I'm telling you." Dawn tried again. "I got this case cracked wide-open. I got the perp fingered. I told you 'bout Mike Helgenberg, right?"

"Uh, that's the guy that asked her to the dance?"

"Right. The one that keeps asking her to the dance. I'm thinking, who likes to be rejected? Nobody. I'm thinking, some people can't handle the rejection. I'm thinking that…."

"Hey, I got something." Willow interrupted. "Whoa, drunk and disorderly, disturbing the peace…. there's a lot of charges here."

"Her dad's a drunk?" Buffy asked.

"A violent drunk?" Xander interjected.

"We'd better find out. I have his address right…. here. Connor?"

"Coming with." Connor said, grabbing his and Buffy's jacket.

* * *

Buffy sighed and knocked on the door. "Buffy, the vampire slayer, would break down this door." She said quietly.

"And Buffy, the counselor?" Connor asked.

"Waits." Mr. Newton answered the door, but didn't open the screen door. "Mr. Newton?"

"That's right." He said.

"I work at your daughter's school. I need to talk to you."

He eyed her for a second and then opened the screen door to let them in. "So, is she screwing up her grades again? Because she's not the sharpest apple in the barrel."

"She's got some problems. But it's, um, it's kind of you we wanted to talk about."

"What about?"

"We know you've been picked up by the police a couple of times. We wanted to know if you still…. drink a lot." Buffy noticed the rows of bottles of alcohol sitting on a table.

"What's that got to do with Cassie?"

"Frankly, we were worried that you might drink too much and hurt Cassie. That's all."

"Oh, I see. That's-that's all. You just come in here in the middle of the night, into my home, and start accusing me of beating on my daughter? That's all?"

"We just want to make sure that Cassie's…."

"Well, that's a lie! Who told you this? Did Cassie's mother put you up to this, cause I pay my support, ok? To the dime! She just wants to take away the one weekend a month I get to be with my girl."

"Which is when?"

"What?"

"Which weekend is it?"

"I-I just had her last weekend. Look, I may not be the greatest dad in the world, but I don't beat up my daughter."

"So, you won't be seeing her this Friday, then?"

"Not unless my ex-wife gets a personality transplant."

"Ok."

"ok, what? Ok now you'll get out of my house?"

"Yeah, we will." Buffy and Connor went back out the front door. Connor pointed at driveway and Buffy saw that Cassie had just pulled into the driveway.

"It's not him." Cassie said. "He's not the one who does it. Thank you for trying, but I probably shouldn't have told you anything. You're making such a big deal out of it, and I want it to all to just go away."

"Are you talking about killing yourself?" Connor asked.

"No, of course not."

"Then fight. Try." Buffy said.

"There's no point. I told you…."

"This doesn't sound like someone who really wants to live."

"You think I want this? You think I don't care? Believe me, I want to…. be here, do things. I want to graduate from high school, and I want to go to the stupid winter formal…. I have this friend, and it would be fun to go with him. Just to dance and hear lame music to wear a silly dress and laugh and stuff. I'd like to go. There's a lot of stuff I'd like to do. I'd love to ice skate at Rockefeller Center. And I'd love to see my cousins grow up and see how they turn out cause they're really mean and I think they're gonna be fat. I'd love to backpack across the country or, I don't know, fall in love, but I won't. I just never will."

"You will. Cassie, you will. You just have to tell us what you know. You have to tell us everything. Please, help us."

"I can't. I just know it's gonna happen. I don't know why and I don't know how, but something out there is gonna kill me." She looked away and walked into the house to see her father.

Buffy, with tears in her eyes, turned and walked away.

* * *

Connor and Buffy had knocked out two boys in the locker room and stolen their robes. Now they sat in a circle listening to idiot teenage boys chanting away. Buffy had talked to a boy that day and he had confessed everything. They were going to kill Cassie as a sacrifice to raise a demon.

"All present?" Peter, the leader of the group, asked.

"All present." The others said.

Peter went to light a nearby torch with his candle and pushed his hood back. "Then we begin." Someone giggled. "Mandel, shut up."

"Sorry, dude, it's…." Mandel said. "It's just so cool, I mean…. We're gonna be rich!"

"Keep your shorts, all right. We have to do the ritual if we wanna score. Oh, Keith, did you take care of the fire exits?"

"Yeah." Keith said. "Anybody tries to bust in here's gonna get a nasty surprise. I set up this booby trap my cousin Ben always used to do…."

"Then nobody is getting in…." Peter pulled a blindfolded, bound, and gagged Cassie from behind a bookshelf and into the circle. "And nobody is getting out."

"Dude."

Cassie was whimpering through the duct tape on her mouth. Peter pulled off Cassie's blindfold. "This is our sacrifice." He picked up a large cleaver. "It's nothing personal. It's just that you have this death-kick suicidal vibe going. I figure if you disappear, everybody'll just assume you threw yourself in a river somewhere. Extinguish." All the robed people holding candles licked their fingers and pressed them to the candlewick to extinguish the flames. "All mighty Avilas…. please accept our sacrifice. Please appear before us, oh mighty soldier of the dark. Please appear before us, and grant us with infinite riches, and we will pay you with our sacrifice. We kneel before you with the gift of flesh."

Buffy couldn't take it anymore. She stood up and undid her robe. "Ok, that is going on your permanent record." Connor stood and took his robe off too.

"Wait, this is…. the counselor! What the hell is she doing here?" Peter yelped. "And who's that with her?"

"I-it was his idea!" One of the guys said, pointing to Mandel.

Buffy and Peter started to circle each other. Peter was still holding the cleaver. "Back off. Get back! Get back, you stupid bitch!" Buffy kicked him in the face and he fell back. He got back up and yelled, coming at her with a cleaver. "Aw, you're gonna die!"

Buffy kicked him again, in the crotch this time, and he fell down in agony, dropping the cleaver. "Do you know how lame this is? Bored teenage boys trying to raise up a demon. Sorry it didn't show. I bet it's 'cause you forgot the boom box playing some heavy metal thing, like Blue Clam Cult. I think that's the key to the raising of lame demons."

Peter looked up over Buffy's shoulder and pointed. "That lame demon?"

Buffy looked behind her and saw the demon Avilas standing there. He was six feet tall with a curved horn coming out of either side of his head. He had scaly brown demon skin, very muscular, with fins jutting out from his shoulders. He also had a circular cavity where his abdomen should be. Buffy grabbed the cleaver from the floor in front of Peter and hurled it at the demon. It landed in his chest, but didn't phase the demon at all. Buffy and Connor lunged at it to attack it from either side, but it threw both of them across the room.

The demon took the cleaver out of its chest and threw it back on the floor near Peter. The demon went after Buffy, who tried to kick him away. Peter grabbed the cleaver and went after Cassie. Peter held the cleaver to Cassie, bending her head back to bare her neck. Connor kicked one of the cult members out of the way while the demon attacked Buffy again, throwing her into a bookcase. While she was pinned to the floor, the demon stepped on her chest.

"No! Ow!"

The demon was going to hurt Buffy when it turned around instead to measure a new threat. Connor had knocked away Peter and was standing behind the demon with the torch to the demon's back. It roared.

"Untie her. I'll take care of this." Buffy took the torch from Connor and pointed it at the demon. Connor walked to Cassie as Buffy swept the torch in front of the demon's face. Connor punched Peter, knocking him to the ground. Buffy jabbed the torch into the demon's abdomen cavity. Connor pinned Peter under him and pummeled him ferociously.

"Who are you?" Peter asked.

"I'm the Destroyer." Connor punched Peter hard, knocking him out. Connor grabbed the cleaver and held it menacingly over Peter while he stood. The demon had caught on fire from Buffy's torching it. Connor used the cleaver gently to cut the ties on Cassie's hands, then he took off the duct tape on her mouth. The demon had been burned to a crisp finally and Buffy rushed over to Cassie and Connor.

"Are you ok?" Buffy inspected Cassie's arm.

"Uh-huh. Ow." Cassie said.

Peter crawled on the floor toward the crispy demon. "You can't be dead. Where are my infinite riches?" The crispy demon jumped up and bit his shoulder. "Ahh! Ahh! It bit me!" The demon exploded and Buffy shielded Cassie, who gasped with fright, as Connor shielded Buffy.

"C'mon." Buffy said.

"Help!" Peter begged. "Help me, please! I'm bleeding."

"Sorry. My office hours are 10 to 4." Buffy walked out into the library's front room with Cassie and Connor.

"It's all ok now. I hope you're not too disappointed." They walked to the main door, and when Buffy opened it, the booby trap triggered a crossbow to shoot an arrow at their heads. Buffy reached up in time to stop it from hitting Cassie between the eyes. "See?" She broke the arrow in half. "You can make a difference."

Cassie reached up admiringly to push a strand of hair out of Buffy's face. "And you will." Cassie breathed in sharply and collapsed onto the floor. Buffy kneeled down to help her, putting her ear to Cassie's chest and checking her pulse.

Buffy stroked her hair. "Cassie? Cassie. Cassie. No, come on. Cassie. Cassie." Buffy sobbed, unable to help her. Connor hugged Buffy tightly as she rocked Cassie in her arms.

* * *

Xander sat in the comfy chair, Connor sat on the couch in between Buffy and Dawn. Willow sat in the second chair. No one was talking, just sitting quietly reflecting on the loss of Cassie until Willow broke the silence. "How is her mom?"

"Ok. As ok as…. she told me that her family had a history of heart irregularities, but she never told Cassie." Buffy said.

"Cassie didn't know? Then it was fate?"

"I think she was gonna die, no matter what, wasn't she?" Connor asked. "Didn't matter what you did."

"She just knew. She was special. I failed her."

"Uh-uh." Dawn said. "No. You didn't, cause you tried. You listened, and you tried. She died cause of her heart, not cause of you. She was my friend because of you. I guess sometimes you can't help."

"So what then? What do you do when you know that? When you know that maybe you can't help?"

"I think you keep helping." Connor said. "You don't give up." Buffy looked at him and smiled. "Come on. Dad's waiting."

Buffy squeezed Connor's hand and he helped her to her feet. After saying their goodbyes, Connor and Buffy loaded into the Jeep and headed up to LA.


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter 18

Buffy and Connor were walking beside each other amid boxes and such in alleyways. They had gone to the Hyperion and Gunn had told her that Angel had gone out just before the birds had gone kamikaze. While they had been putting their stuff in their rooms, Cordelia had walked in on Connor. She had asked him if he would take her out and Connor had gone to get Buffy. She had agreed to take them both out and look for Angel at the same time.

"Sure you know where you're going?" Connor asked Cordelia.

"Exactly? No." Cordy said. "But, for the first time since I've been back, I feel like I have a purpose, like a reason for being here. Before, all I felt was empty…. like I was waiting for my life to start."

"I know how that feels. Not knowing why you're here, what your place is in this world…."

"It's called being 18." Buffy said.

"If you make it past 21, things get a lot better." Cordy said.

"They already have." Connor said, looking at Buffy with a slight smile.

Buffy noticed the flash of jealousy and anger that crossed Cordy's face. She ignored it, though, and shook her head at Connor. "You really are getting awfully good with words." They turned a corner and Cordy came to an abrupt stop. "What is it?"

"This place. I've been here before." Cordy said.

"In your vision?" Connor asked.

"No, I…. Oh, my God. Darla."

"My mother."

"She died here. Connor, this is where you were born."

Before anyone could comment, something burst up from the ground in front of them, surrounded in red light. It had two enormous horns on top of its head and it was a hulking beast. It was huge and it cast a horned shadow on the moist pavement. Connor went at him with a sword, but the Beast just threw him across the alley into the side of a steel dumpster.

"Connor!" Buffy threw herself at the Beast, but was quickly thrown down, cracking a rib on a large piece of broken pavement where the Beast had burst through. Cordelia was crouching on the ground, but the Beast grabbed her by the throat and lifted her several feet in the air to its eye level and stared into Cordelia's face. She didn't scream or thrash, but just stared back at it looking a little frightened. Connor and Buffy ran to her aid, attacking the Beast again. The Beast put Cordelia down and threw Connor across the alley again.

"No!" Cordy yelled.

The Beast walked toward her, but Buffy was suddenly there protecting her. The Beast backhanded her, but she held her ground and punched at its chest. Her knuckles came away torn and bloody. The Beast grabbed Buffy's throat this time and picked her up, squeezing her neck until her eyes bulged.

"Stay away from her!" Connor yelled. "Let her go!" Connor ran his shoulder into the Beast's side and it just laughed. It dropped Buffy to the ground and with a single effort, he jumped up to the top of the nearby five story tall building. When the Beast was gone, Cordelia crawled over to Buffy and Connor. Connor was holding Buffy up as she choked in air. He dabbed at the blood coming from her cheek, where the Beast had backhanded her, and at her neck. Where the Beast had held her and squeezed, her neck was red and torn.

"Let's get you back to the Hyperion." Connor said. "They'll make you better there."

As Connor helped her up, Buffy noticed Cordelia glare slightly at her and Connor. She shook her head and allowed Connor to hold her up as they walked back to the Hyperion.

* * *

Gunn was talking on the phone in the lobby while Lorne was also on the phone across the counter. "If you see Fred, could you have her call me? Charles Gunn, two N's. Yes, that's my real name. Just…. please, have her call me."

"Well it might take a couple days." Lorne said. "You're fifth on the bleeding walls list. You know what, spritz it with a little 409. We'll get back to you." He hung up. "Hey, no word yet?"

"Nobody's seen her."

"Well, maybe she ducked and covered when our feathered friends went kamikaze."

"You good here? I'm gonna drive around, see if I can…. I'm just gonna drive." Gunn put on his coat.

"Let the machine work it's mechanical magic. C'mon. I'll hang my head out the window, see if I can pick up the Burkle vibe."

"You can do that?"

"Um, no, but it sounds comforting, and I could use the air."

Gunn and Lorne started toward the exit, but Wesley had just come in the front doors. "It is a bit ripe in here. I'd suggest opening a window, but…."

"Fred's not here." Gunn said.

"Didn't ask."

"Didn't have to."

"Since you brought it up, where is she?"

"Not your business."

"Hey, uh, call me kooky-pants, but maybe we could save the three rounds until after the Chuck Heston Plague-A-Thon cools off." Lorne said.

"You've noticed the increase in paranormal activities?" Wesley asked.

"Yeah, you stepped in some on your way in. Birds, rats, blood…. the Ghostbuster lines have been ringing off the hook."

"I've been tracking similar reports. Maybe if we pool our data…."

"Go pool yourself. I'm gonna find my girlfriend."

Gunn started to walk away, when Angel interrupted him. "No you're not. If we don't' stop what's coming, it won't matter where Fred is, or any of us."

Gunn was about to retort when he was interrupted again. This time by Buffy, Connor, and Cordelia walking in the garden doors. Angel turned and looked at the roughed up trio. "What the hell is going on here?" Buffy rasped.

"Buffy! Connor…. What happened?" Angel took Buffy from Connor and led her to the settee. Cordelia walked quietly up the stairs, back to her room, without being seen.

Connor looked at his father. "We were looking for the thing in Cordelia's vision or for you, whichever we found first, but…."

"The big beastie found us first." Buffy said. She coughed, causing her to wince and grasp her side. "It was made of solid rock and had a grip that iron would be jealous of." She gently touched her neck where there was blood trickling down from the tears.

"I'll get the first aid." Lorne said, walking to the bathroom.

"Not exactly the welcome I was hoping for."

"What did you expect? Balloons and a cake?" Angel asked with a chuckle.

"Cake would've been better than a solid beating."

"It wasn't a solid beating." Connor said. "You at least managed to hit him."

"A lot of good that did." Buffy held up her torn knuckles. "They haven't been this bad since…."

"That was worse." Angel said.

She smiled slightly. "Yeah."

Angel took the first aid kit Lorne handed him. Before he started to bandage Buffy up, he took a folder out of his jacket pocket and handed it to Gunn. "Start going through that."

Lorne and Gunn sat down, spreading the papers across the coffee table. The papers were completely covered in mystical symbols and there were hundreds of the sheets of paper.

Wesley picked up a few and glanced at them. "What is this?"

"That's everything Wolfram and Hart could decipher from what they took outta Lorne." Angel led Buffy over to the counter and lifted her up gently. Connor went to get a bowl of hot water to start cleaning the wounds with.

"They just handed these over?"

"Lilah…. she can be very giving."

"You trust her on this?" Gunn asked.

"No, but she's got an interest in stopping the end of the world before it ruins Wolfram and Hart's end of the world, so…."

"Ok, what's the plan?"

"You're holding it. We figure out what all this means, then do something large and violent."

"I see you've given it considerable thought." Wesley said.

Lorne held up some papers. "So all this came out of my head? No wonder it made me greener."

"If Wolfram and Hart hadn't extracted it, you'd be a paler shade of dead." Angel said as Connor set the bowl of water down and handed Angel one of two washcloths. "Hold still. This is going to sting a little." He and Connor dabbed at Buffy's neck and cheek gently as Buffy hissed in air.

"Yeah, well, remind me to send 'em a fruit basket." Lorne sipped his cocktail as the phone rang. "Mm. Saved by the continuous bell."

"You've been logging the calls?"

"Every last squishy one."

"Grab a map, start marking the locations. See if they're concentrated in any one area. Whatever's happening, whatever Cordy's seen, whatever that thing was that attacked Buffy and Connor, the answers are in these pages. We need to figure this out."

* * *

Wesley, Gunn, Buffy, Connor, and Angel sat on the couches, trying to decipher the data contained in the papers on the table in front of them. It had been over an hour and they hadn't made any progress. Cordelia had disappeared upstairs and hadn't come back down, but no one was too worried about her as long as she was safe in the hotel.

"We're never gonna figure this out." Gunn said.

"We have to keep trying." Angel said.

Wesley shook his head. "Normally I'd agree, but this is a waste of time."

"It's all we have."

"Then we must be missing something. This is gibberish. Bits and pieces of glyphs, archaic languages, symbols…. all jumbled together."

"Do you recognize any of them?"

"Uh, heat, fallen, shrine, flesh…. none of it makes any sense."

"Ah, we gotta keep at it until it does."

"Maybe we should just take a step back." Connor said, getting up and walking around.

"We don't have time. Cordy said whatever's happening is going down right now."

"Then perhaps you should have addressed this earlier." Wesley said, flipping through pages. "We could sift through this muddle from now 'til doomsday, whether that's tomorrow or a thousand years from now…."

"Wait, go back." Connor said suddenly. "The last sheet, flip it back."

"What is it?" Buffy asked, getting up and walking over to Connor.

"I don't see anything." Wesley said.

"Because you're looking too close." Connor lined up two of the papers, showing a triangular symbol that was completed when they were lined up properly. "Look. The pattern of the symbols and glyphs aren't senseless after all." There were areas that were more densely written on than others. Gunn caught on and grabbed a stack of the papers from Wesley, pushed the coffee table out of the way, and he and Connor started arranging the papers on the floor, matching up the denser areas which start to form lines.

"Ok. There." Connor said proudly.

"So what the hell is it?" Buffy asked. They were looking at the papers spread out on the floor in order. They formed a symbol that looked like a square with lines connecting opposite corners that formed an X inside the square.

"The Eye of Fire." Angel said.

"Ancient alchemical symbol for fire." Wesley said.

"And destruction."

"You had me at fire." Gunn said.

"Um, boys…. And girl?" Lorne held up map. "I hate to be the little demon that cried apocalypse nowish, but uh…." He gestured to the map with a marker where he had plotted the locations of the disturbances with a red dot for each call. The dots formed a square. As Angel, Wesley, and Gunn walked over to the map, Connor started to walk out. Buffy grabbed him before he could reach the stairs.

"What are you doing?" She asked quietly.

"I gotta go. I've gotta stop it."

"Yes, getting yourself killed should really slow that thing down."

"Buffy, all you know is that that thing can hurt you, and if it tries again, I will find a way to kill it."

"My little hero." Buffy placed her hand lovingly on his cheek and smiled. Before she could say anything else, there was an earthquake. Her eyes widened in fear and she gripped the railing next to her, causing her knuckles to bleed.

"What is it?"

Angel looked over and rushed to Buffy's side. "You're ok. We know what this means." Buffy nodded, holding on to Angel.

"What does it mean?"

"The Apocalypse is here." Buffy said quietly. She looked over to where Angel had drawn an X in the middle of Lorne's square.

"That's it." Angel said, pointing to the middle where the lines of the X met.

"What?" Lorne asked.

"The focal point of the disturbances." Wesley said. The building shook like there was another earthquake.

"Whatever's coming, that's where we'll find it." Angel said.

"And that's where it begins and ends." Buffy said.

"I know that area." Gunn said. "The old Kimball building's down there. They did a retro on it, put a club up on the roof. The, uh, Sky Temple or something."

"Yeah, yeah, I've heard of it." Lorne said. "Watering hole for the tragically hip. Actors, models, all the hot mamas and yamas."

"A shrine of the flesh." Wesley said.

"So, who's thirsty?" Angel walked to weapons cabinet with Buffy at his side.

"Let's do it." Gunn said, following Angel and Buffy.

Lorne didn't get up. "Hey, I know location's everything, but, um, maybe we should hold off on the down-payment till we know what we're dealing with or how to stop it."

"If it's alive, we kill it. If it's not, we bury it." Angel said, throwing crossbow to Wesley and a sword to Connor. "You in?"

"Are you sure you're up to it, Buffy?" Connor asked.

She shrugged. "Of course." Buffy looked at Angel. "I'm always up for the end of the world."

* * *

Angel, Wesley, Buffy, Connor, Gunn, and Lorne walked up to the club entrance armed and ready to fight, but when they saw the Beast, they stopped dead in their tracks.

"Oh my God." Buffy said.

"That's it." Connor said to Angel. "That's the thing that hurt Buffy."

The Beast was still hulking and intimidating even when compared to Angel and the others. It chuckled at the sight of them. It was standing inside a square made from human bodies that had been laid out in a square. At the center of the square, the Beast was holding a man in the air, dangling him by the foot. The way the body hung, it formed the familiar X shape.

"Ooh, uh, I'm gonna need a bigger arrow." Lorne said.


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter 19

The Beast threw the man he was holding across the room before focusing his attention on Angel, Buffy, Connor, Gunn, Wesley, and Lorne.

Angel hoisted his sword and ran toward the Beast. Gunn flanked him on the right, while Wesley and Lorne were on the left with crossbows aimed. Buffy and Connor hung back, waiting to see how much damage the boys did. Angel swung the sword at the Beast, but it had no effect. When the sword contacted the Beast's skin, there was a loud clanging sound, but it didn't cut or penetrate the skin. Angel continued to try using the sword on the Beast, but to no avail. Eventually, the Beast took the sword away from Angel, discarded it, and threw Angel across the room where he collided with a column, shattering it to pieces.

Gunn hurled the battleaxe at the Beast, but the Beast caught it easily, bending the blade in half and throwing it back at Gunn. Angel recovered from his fall, stood, and wielded two smaller axes. He started to swing them at the Beast's legs, arms, head, but Buffy held out a hand and he stopped. Wesley and Lorne shot arrows from their crossbows at the Beast, but the beast deflected them with his forearm, changing their trajectory such that the arrows aimed at Angel instead. Buffy managed to catch one out of the air, but the other one hit Angel. He doubled over in pain as it landed in his upper right shoulder.

Buffy helped him yank it out and covered the wound. "We need a different tactic. This guy is just toying with us."

"Like what?" Angel asked.

"Hit him at the same time from all angles." Connor said.

"It won't work."

"It might." Buffy said to Connor. "We need…."

"Your rocket launcher?"

"I don't think that would help."

"Worth a shot."

"If I had it, it would be. But I don't have it."

The Beast looked around at them all. Wesley and Lorne were reloading the crossbows when the Beast suddenly charged forward and pick up Buffy. Angel and Connor yelled, trying to catch her before she was out of reach, but the Beast picked her up and threw her body at Wesley and Lorne, knocking them off balance. Gunn went for the Beast with a sword, hacking mightily at its head, again to no avail. The Beast grabbed Gunn by the throat and threw him across the room.

Wesley reached both hands inside his coat, pulling out two automatic handguns. He shot them, two at a time, at the Beast's chest and head with no effect. The others had to duck to get out of the way of the ricocheting bullets. Wesley threw the guns down and reached for the shotgun at his side. He fired at the Beast's chest, causing it to flinch a bit, but the shots didn't appear to damage it. He fired again at the Beast's face, causing the Beast to fall down, landing on its knees. Wes aimed the shotgun at its face at close range, but the Beast just looked up and smiled at him. It grunted and pushed the shotgun away before hurling Wesley across the room, causing the thing to chuckle.

"Might wanna hold the gloat, chuckles." Angel picked up the arrow Buffy had yanked out of his shoulder. "We're just getting started."

Angel lunged for the Beast, engaging him in hand-to-hand combat. They exchanged punches, when the Beast punched Angel so hard, it sent him backwards through the air in a back flip. Angel landed on his feet on an awning, in vamp face now. The Beast groaned. As Angel jumped down from the awning, landing in front of the Beast, Buffy and Connor lined up at two points behind the Beast to the sides. The three of them attacked and managed to knock the Beast down to his knees. Angel grabbed a dagger from his leg-holster and pointed it at the Beast's strange yellow eyes. It's eyes widened and Angel hesitated, unable to plunge the dagger into its eyes because it now had a grip on Angel's arm. The tables were turned as the Beast stabbed used Angel's arm to cut Connor's oncoming arm and then stab Buffy in her arm. Then he twisted Angel's arm and stabbed him in the right shoulder. Angel groaned in agony, blood dribbling down his mouth, as he involuntarily reverted to human face. The Beast took Angel and hurled him out into the city, well beyond the edge of the building they were on now.

Buffy screamed helplessly as Angel sailed over her head and she couldn't catch him. "No!"

The Beast kneeled on one knee and punched the floor at the center of his human square. It sent a trail of fire out along the floor in the shape of the Eye of Fire symbol. A shock wave emanated from the area, knocking everyone back a few feet. Lorne was thrown back, but landed on a glass skylight and fell into the room below. Gunn and Wesley were knocked down, but still on the rooftop. Connor was making his way to Buffy and ended up getting thrown into the wall beside her, knocking him out. Buffy curled in a little ball and held onto Connor. The fire grew tall, taller than the Beast, and shot up towards the sky. She sat up, still holding Connor, in time to see the Beast leap straight up into the sky, riding the fire that he had created. Wesley went over to Gunn, who was lying unconscious on the floor. He carried Gunn away from the fire and looked across it to Buffy and Connor. She was trying to shake him awake.

"Wesley, help me!" Buffy called.

Wesley set Gunn down and ran around the flames to them. He helped Buffy get Connor up and they dragged him over to Gunn under the cover of the stairwell. Connor finally came to and looked outside. The column of fire was sucked up into the cloud where it disappeared and the clouds closed. Still glowing, the clouds started to rain tiny fireballs all over the city. Wesley gently touched Buffy's shoulder. "We need to go." Buffy nodded and they left the building, collecting Lorne on the way out. She and Connor looked around for Angel, but they couldn't find him. Wesley pulled them onward, saying Angel would make it back to the Hyperion.

* * *

A newscaster's voice came over the radio as Fred leaned on the front desk and listened worriedly to the radio. "A series of earthquakes and what authorities are now calling meteor showers have ravaged the southland tonight, igniting fires and explosions throughout the L.A. basin." Fred turned up the radio volume and hid her face in her hands. "As fire and rescue teams assess the ongoing threat, government officials are asking people to stay in their homes and off the streets."

A telephone on the desk in front of her rang and Fred rushed to answer before the first ring was finished sounding. "This is Fred. No, that's right. Yes ma'am. Angel Inves…. I know, it is scary, but…. But if she's only an hour late…. I'm just saying maybe it's a bit early to panic. A little fire falling from the sky doesn't necessarily mean the end…." The sound of someone at the door caused Fred to turn. "Oh, my God!" She dropped the phone and ran over to greet Gunn, Lorne, Connor, Buffy, and Wesley who were walking in the front door. She gave Gunn a heartfelt hug while Lorne and Wesley walked past them. Connor and Buffy sat down painfully on the couch, unable to go any further.

"Oh! I thought you were dead." Fred pulled back from the embrace, but Gunn's arms were still around her waist. "I got back here, and it was empty and I panicked and the radio and the fires?"

"I know, baby. I know." Gunn said. "Me too. It was like the end of the world out there, and all I wanted was you."

"You're safe now, all of you."

"Yes, all safe." Wesley said.

"Where's Cordelia?" Buffy asked.

"Upstairs in her room, I guess. I didn't check." Fred said.

"I'll check." Connor said, limping up the stairs.

"What about Angel? Where's Angel?"

"We got separated." Gunn said. "I'm sure he'll be here soon. What about you? You ok?"

"I'm fine. I just needed some air. I didn't know I'd be gone so long. Looks like there's some other things I didn't know either."

"Yeah. Plenty of time for updates later. Right now we need to regroup, think about getting back out there and mixing it up with that demony thing."

"That's not what Angel would do." Wesley said.

"Thanks for your opinion, and I don't remember asking."

"Uh, what demony thing?" Fred asked.

"Oh, I believe he's referring to the big bad, possibly invincible, demony thing that nearly killed us all before he ring-mastered tonight's Cirque du Flambe." Lorne said, stirring a drink.

"Is that the pain and suffering and despair thing you saw when you read Cordelia?"

"'Fraid so, peanut. And if there was ever truth in advertising…."

"Charles, if he's really that big and bad, maybe we should wait for Angel. I…. I mean, if he couldn't stop him…. And Buffy…. God, you're so hurt, Buffy…."

"So we just wait 'cause we don't know what Angel would or wouldn't do?" Gunn said.

"Would I do what?" Everyone turned to see Angel had just walked in the front door. He stopped at the edge of the lobby and looked at Buffy.

"Angel, you're hurt." Fred said.

"I'll be…. Let's talk about it in the morning." Angel started walking upstairs.

"The man looks like he was hit by a tank." Lorne said.

"I don't remember seeing him that down after a fight." Gunn said.

"Can't blame him." Wesley said. "No one likes to lose, whatever the circumstance."

Buffy watched Angel disappear upstairs. "You should go to him." Gunn said to her. "He looks like he needs someone."

She nodded and Gunn helped her up and towards the stairs. "Here, crumbcake." Lorne said, handing her the first aid kit. "You both need it."

"Thanks." Buffy said, walking up the stairs. She opened Angel's door and walked in, shutting it quietly behind her. "Angel?" The room was dark and she didn't see him anywhere. The curtains to the balcony fluttered and Buffy set down the first aid kit and walked over. Angel stood on the balcony, looking out over the city. She reached out and gripped his hand as he had done for her when she was waiting for him at her mother's grave. "It'll be light soon."

He looked over at her. "Are you ok?"

"Blood loss is starting to get to me, but I think I'll live. Not like I haven't lost this much blood before." Angel nodded. "Will you come in here and let me clean you up?"

"What's the use? That thing…."

"Will be stopped. But right now, none of us are in any shape for a war." Angel sighed and allowed Buffy to pull him into the room. She shut the doors and led him over to the bed. She took off her torn leather jacket and the shirt she was wearing over her camisole and tossed them on the chair in the corner of the room. Gently, she stripped Angel's coat and shirt off of him. Staring at his wounds for a moment, she snapped out of it and helped him out of his pants. Suddenly very aware of Angel's almost-nakedness and her close proximity to him and the fact that she a lot less dressed herself, Buffy blushed and moved away to get the first aid kit.

"Buffy." His voice stopped her. When she turned he was standing above her, looking down at her with lust in his eyes.

"Angel…."

"Don't say anything." He pulled her to him and kissed her passionately. They both groaned from the pain the movements caused them and from the pleasure they felt just being so close. He stepped forward, causing her to step backwards. Slowly, he led them to the bathroom and turned on the shower. He helped Buffy strip out of her clothes and then she helped him out of his boxers. They stood there, naked, and started into each other's eyes. Neither of them wanted to make love. They just wanted to feel each other.

In the shower, Angel's hands moved over every inch of Buffy's skin, cleaning and caressing at the same time. Buffy leaned back into his chest and breathed in sharply as his hands hit her lower abdomen. Angel hissed as her hands snaked around behind her and caressed his hips and lower back. He kissed her neck and licked her scar and she moaned a little and arched her back.

Afterwards, after they had dried off and gotten into more comfortable clothes, they bandaged each other up and got into bed. The next morning, Angel kissed Buffy's hair and told her he would be downstairs. She was still asleep, but she heard him and nodded. When Buffy finally woke up, it was to a knock on the door. She opened it and found Connor on the other side.

"Connor…."

"I should've tried harder. I should've stopped it." He said, walking into the room.

Buffy shut the door behind him. "It was too strong. It wasn't your fault. None of this is."

"What if it is? What if that thing is…. It chose the place where I was born. Is that why it's here…. because of me?"

"No."

"I was never supposed to happen. The child of two vampires. What if…."

"Connor, it's not you."

"You don't know that."

"Yes, I do. It's not you, Connor."

Connor shook his head, still not believing her. "I have to find out why."

"We will."

"No, on my own."

"On your…. Connor, please don't be silly."

"I'll find this thing and I'll find out why."

"Or you'll find this thing and you won't have any questions because you'll be dead."

"No. I was going to ask you for help, but you're too full of him to care. I'll find out on my own." Connor stormed out of the room, slamming the door.

"Connor!" Buffy called, knowing it would do no good. She sighed and turned to get dressed.

* * *

Downstairs, Gunn was leaning over the front desk, working on research. Fred was there with him, using the laptop computer. "I don't get it. I've run its stats through every possible database, cross-checked against prophecies, and still come up with squat." Fred said. "How can a creature with that much firepower not leave behind some kind of parchment trail?"

"There is a trail." Gunn said. "The problem is the trail guide was drawn by a crack-head." They looked up to see Buffy coming down the stairs. "Hey, Buffy."

"Hey." Buffy said. "Is Angel around?"

"Hibernating in his cave." Buffy nodded and walked to Angel's office door and knocked. She opened it and shut it behind her. "You have a minute?"

"Hey." Angel glanced up with a smile.

"I was hoping we could talk about Connor."

"What's up?"

"Oh, you know, this hell beast we're all looking for crawled up out of the ground in the exact spot where your son was born."

"Same spot? Really?" Angel paused. "Doesn't mean anything. It could just be a, you know…."

"Coincidence?"

"Strange things happen."

"Like a vampire giving birth? Oh, hold on a sec, that thing happened in the exact same spot too."

"You think Connor's connected to this evil thing?"

"God, no."

"Then why are you telling me this?"

"Because your son stormed out this morning, and he really does believe it."

"What?" Buffy nodded. He thought for a long moment. "He'll be fine."

"Angel!"

"What?"

"It's your son. He won't be fine. He needs us."

Angel walked around the desk and gripped her hands. "Buffy, he's my son and you've done wonders for him. He'll be fine."

Buffy shook her head. "You didn't hear him this morning. He blames himself for everything. Now he's out there searching for the Beast that beat all of us down."

"The only thing we can do right now is to try and find this Beast in any of our texts. The more we know, the more we can help Connor."

"But…."

"We wouldn't be able to find him anyway. If he doesn't want to be found, he won't be."

"What if he finds that thing?"

"He won't."

Fred was working on the laptop and Gunn was reading from a book, tapping his pencil on it nervously. Fred sighed and looked up from her computer. "Can you not do that?"

Gunn stopped the tapping. "Oh, sorry, it helps me think."

"I didn't mean to snap."

"I'm ready to crackle-pop myself." Cordelia said from the couch. "The last 24 haven't exactly been normal. We're all tired."

"Wonder why." Angel said sarcastically. He brushed Lorne's leg as he walked by, startling him awake.

"Huh? Oh. Mmm. Just, uh, meditating on the problem. Yeah. Asking the inner Lorne for a little backup. Heh."

Gunn walked out from behind the front desk. "We're assuming it's a big connect-the-dot that Connor and the devily guy have this alley in common, but isn't this alley right behind Caritas, or at least what's left of it?"

"Yeah, that whole block is a big fat inter-dimensional happenin' hot spot."

"Except this thing didn't emerge from a portal so much as a pothole." Buffy said.

A grim-faced Wesley walked through the front door, and the others turned to look. Gunn crossed his arms and rolled his eyes at him. "Oh, good. More bad news."

"Can you just try to get along? He was your friend." Fred said quietly to Gunn.

"Heavy on the was."

"You know where it is. The Beast." Angel said.

"Inside Wolfram and Hart." Wesley said. "And so is…."

"Well, that answers a lot of questions." Gunn interrupted. "They're probably having a big sit-down, breaking bread."

"It's killing everything that moves in there."

"I've heard worse news."

Wesley ignored him and looked at Angel. "Your son is trapped inside."

"What?" Buffy asked, getting up off the couch. "Why would he be in there? I don't understand."

"We're going in after him." Angel said.

"Won't be easy." Wesley said. "The building's locked tight. There's no way out."

"But I bet there's a way in."


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter 20

Angel was wielding a sword, Buffy sliced the air with a katana, and Gunn was picking a weapon out of the weapons cabinet. Wesley was standing behind the front desk packing a bag, and Fred was talking to him.

"I mean, I know you run your own shop, but inside data on Wolfram and Hart? Pretty amazing." She said.

"Yes, well, uh, part of the job." Wesley walked away.

"Flashlight?" Angel asked Fred.

"Yes, please."

"It's gonna be fine, you know." Cordelia said to Angel. "Connor's a champion, like you. He's special."

"Right. Like me. Special." Angel walked away. "Somebody should stay here and mind the store."

"Me! Me me me." Lorne said eagerly. "Sargeant Stay-At-Home, volunteering for duty, sir."

"Gunn, let's go."

"Angel, uh, assuming we can even get inside the evil empire, same big beastie's in there who spanked our asses six ways to Sunday. What's gonna be different this time?" Gunn asked.

"What's different is we're not going for the monster, we're going for Connor." Buffy said.

"So, one of you phoned ahead so the big bad understood that, right?"

"Look, I don't know the answers." Angel said. "Don't even know most of the questions. But what I do know is that I have to go into Wolfram and Hart and find my son. Now as far as us versus the big bad's concerned, there's only one smart way to play it…."

"You see it, you run like hell." Buffy finished for him.

Cordelia grabbed a knife and followed Angel. "Works for me." Angel took the knife from her and put it back where she got it. "Excuse me."

"Stay here with Lorne." Angel said.

"Uh-uh. Connor's in danger, and I…." She went for the knife again, but Angel stopped her.

"Cordelia, I don't want you there. It's too dangerous. Way too dangerous. I can't risk it." Angel walked away. "Fred, get a move on."

"Happy hunting!" Lorne called after them. "We'll, uh, stay here and keep the home fires burning. Bake some nice healing muffins, hm?"

* * *

Wesley lead Angel, Buffy, Gunn, and Fred through the sewer. He stopped walking and shined his light up the chute. "This is it. I believe there's a door about 30 meters up."

"You believe or you know?" Gunn asked. "Cause every time you show up believing something seems somebody gets their head drilled or falls into a portal."

"Charles…." Fred snapped.

"I'm just saying."

"Yes, well I'm doing." Wesley said.

"Will you guys shut up?" Angel snapped. "I don't give a rat's ass about what's going on between you two. Put it away. We're here for Connor."

"I still don't see how you plan on getting us up there." Gunn said. Angel jumped up the chute. "Show off."

Buffy looked up and saw Angel holding down his hands for her and waiting. She jumped up too and he caught her wrists, pulling her up easily. Buffy pulled the rope from around her shoulder and dropped it down the chute for the others.

When Gunn reached the top, he looked at Buffy and shook his head. "You're as bad as he is." She smiled and lifted the rope out of the chute, tucking it away in a corner.

Wesley led them through the basement and up into the lobby. They looked around at the death and destruction as they walked over the bodies crowding the floor.

"Oh my God…. I know they all worked for an evil company, but this is…." Fred stopped when Gunn jumped suddenly. "What?"

"Heard something." Gunn said.

"Power's down. We'll have to take the stairs." Angel announced.

"Just so I'm clear on the plan…."

"Third floor. Get Connor. Get out."

Fred gasped. "Sorry. Feeling a little goosey."

"For good reason." Wesley said.

"This way." Buffy said, making her way towards a door marked Stairs. Angel opened the door lead them up the staircase, still walking over the dead bodies that were everywhere.

"Be quick, be quiet." He said. "As far as we know, that thing's still around."

Buffy looked at the dead bodies and suddenly got a tingling sensation at the base of her neck. "Here's hoping that's the only thing we have to worry about." She said quietly so only Angel could hear as they walked into a hallway with yet more dead bodies. He glanced at her and caught the look of worry that usually accompanied her tingling "spider senses."

"I don't get it." Gunn said. "Wolfram and Hart is evil, the big bad is evil…. why go all Terminator on your own team?"

"Eliminate the competition." Buffy said darkly.

"Doesn't give us much to look forward to, does it?" Fred asked. As they rounded the corner, they came close to a supply closet. Wesley shined his light in it, then on the floor where he saw a pool of blood near a roll of toilet paper.

"Wasn't Gavin…."

"Over here!" Angel called.

"What is it?" Buffy asked, walking into the conference room that had been seriously trashed. "Oh my God."

"He was in here. He might still be."

The five of them dug through the debris, but after fifteen minutes of searching, there was no luck.

"He's not in here." Fred said.

"Let's be certain." Wesley said.

"No, she's right." Angel dropped a large piece of table. "He's not. That's good, means he's still alive."

"Or that Sherlock got his facts wrong again." Gunn snapped at Wesley.

"No, I can smell him. Connor was here."

"We should split up." Buffy said.

"What?" Gunn asked.

"She's right. You three, take one stairwell. Sweep each floor, we'll meet up top. Buffy, you're with me." Buffy followed Angel out into the hallway.

"These aren't just dead bodies." Buffy said.

"They're not vampires."

"No. Zombies, I think. They're not active yet, but they will be soon. My Slayer senses are going haywire. Like I have allergies or something."

"All the more reason to find Connor and get the hell out of here."

They swept the top four floors with no luck. On the 7th Floor, as Angel and Buffy stepped out of the stairwell, something passed by behind them. Angel turned to look, but it was already gone. Swords at the ready, they continued walking. When someone jumped him from behind, Angel grabbed him and pushed him against the wall. It was Connor.

"Connor. Jesus." He hugged Connor tightly. "Thank God you're alive."

Connor pulled back from the hug and looked at Buffy. "Hey, how'd you know where to find me?"

"It's a long story." Buffy said, grabbing Connor's arm and walking away. "We've got to get you out of here first."

Connor stood firm. "Wait, first I have to kill that thing. This is my fault."

"We can't kill it, and no it's not." Angel said.

"Connor, we've thrown everything we can at it. It's not enough. We need to go." Buffy said.

Angel turned to walk away, only to find himself face to face with a very dead Gavin. Gavin grabbed Angel, but Angel punched him and threw him across the hall into the wall. Gavin landed on the floor and stayed put.

"I called that one." Buffy said with a look at Angel.

"He looks dead." Connor said.

"He is dead. Technically, he's undead." Angel said.

"It's a zombie." Buffy clarified as Gavin stood up.

"What's a zombie?" Connor asked as Angel grabbed Gavin and threw him across the hall again.

"It's an undead thing." Angel said.

"Like you?"

"No, zombies are slow-moving, dimwitted things that crave human flesh."

"Like you."

"No!" Angel pointed at Connor. "It's different. Trust me." Gavin got up again, but this time Buffy kicked him in the face.

"Come on." Buffy followed Angel down the hall, dragging Connor behind her.

"Why are they doing this? Why are they zombies?" Connor asked.

"I don't know, but we need to find the others." Buffy said. As they walked away, other zombies in the hallway behind them started to rise. "So much for our get in get out theory, huh?" Angel grabbed Buffy and Connor and pulled them into a doorway hidden in shadows.

"The only way to kill a zombie is to stop its brain activity." Angel said. "Cut off it's head, smash it's skull…. luckily, they're slow and stupid so we have a decent chance of beating them."

Buffy peeked around the corner at the throng of zombies heading toward them. "Unless, of course, there's hundreds of 'em."

Connor peeked around the corner too. "Hey, if they bite me, will I turn into one like that movie we watched a while back?" He asked Buffy.

"I don't know. I don't think so. Just to be on the safe side, don't get bitten."

"We can't stay here." Angel said.

"You want to go play with the Evil Dead, be my guest." Buffy said, glancing around the corner. "I'm taking the stairs."

"They're back that way." Buffy pointed to the elevator doors right across from them. "The power's off."

"We can climb." She dove across the hall followed by Connor and then Angel. She and Angel pried the doors open and looked down. There was a service ladder on the wall to their left.

"How do we get over there?" Connor asked.

"By taking a leap of faith." Buffy jumped and caught the ladder with one hand. She dangled for a few seconds and then caught herself.

"Are you ok?" Angel called.

"Peachy. You boys coming?"

Connor jumped next and then Angel did just as the first of the zombie horde caught up to them. They climbed down and made their way to the fifth floor. "Now what?" Connor asked, looking down and across at the elevator doors that were several feet away from them and closed.

"I'm leaving this plan to you, Buffy." Angel said. "It was your idea."

"Figures." Buffy retorted. "Leave the women to do all the hard work." She tucked her sword into its sheath on her back and turned on the ladder so she faced the cables that held the elevator below them two stories down. With a deep breath, she jumped.

"Buffy!"

She caught the cable and gripped tightly. When she was sure she was holding on, she pulled the katana out of its sheath and started slicing at the cable beneath her feet. When it gave way, the elevator dropped with a thunderous noise to the subbasement level. "Good thing the power's off." Buffy said to Angel and Connor. "That could've sucked."

"Now what?" Angel asked.

"Now you let me finish what I was doing." She stuck her katana back in its sheath and started to swing. Eventually she wound up almost hitting the elevator doors and when she swung towards them again she let go and grabbed onto the cable over the doors. She dangled for a moment and then scooted her toes onto the thin ledge in front of the doors. Balancing her weight precariously, she stuck her fingers between the doors and started to pry them open. As soon as she got them wide enough for her, she stepped through and turned to pry them open the rest of the way.

"Buffy!" Angel called. She looked up just in time to feel the hands on her back push her back into the elevator shaft. Then Angel was there gripping her wrist and holding her up. He had jumped and grabbed the cable to catch her before she fell to the jagged metal remains of the elevator.

"Nice catch." Buffy said, hearing her heart pounding in her ears and feeling it trying to beat its way out of her chest. As they dangled there, Buffy saw the horde of zombies outside the door trying to get at them inside the shaft. "That's not good."

"No, that's not." Three of the zombies managed to fall off the edge and into the shaft. Thankfully it was dark down below, so they couldn't see what kind of damage it did to the body. "We can't just dangle here and wait for all of them to commit zombie suicide."

"I'm not that heavy."

"My arms are gonna get tired soon. I'll swing you over to the ladder." Angel did as he said and Buffy climbed up a ways so Angel could do the same. As they watched in amazement, the zombies lost interest and moved on down the hall towards sounds of shouting.

"I guess the call of Gunn was too much for them." Buffy said. Angel jumped back towards the cable and caught it. He swung towards the open elevator doors and landed in the hallway. Quickly ducking back into the doorway, he peeked around the corner to make sure none had spotted him. He tossed the cable over Buffy's way and she caught it, swinging back to the doorway with Angel. He held her steady and then tossed the cable to Connor. As soon as all three of them were safe on the ledge, they peeked around the corner and then darted down the hall behind the zombies, dodging into a room on their right.

They heard shouts through a door on the left side of the room and opened it. Gunn, Fred, and Wesley were holding back the door to that room.

Fred almost jumped out of her skin. "Connor!"

"We got what we came for." Angel said. "Let's go. Wes?"

"Only two exits I know of." Wesley answered. "Third floor and lobby."

"That's too far."

"We can make it." Connor said.

"Not all of us." Buffy said. "Too many dead men walking."

"All right, look, there is one other way." Angel said. "The white room. It's an inter-dimensional space here in Wolfram and Hart."

"Sounds kinda portaly." Gunn said.

"Not exactly. More like a gateway. And there's a little girl there. Or something old and evil that likes to pretend she's a little girl."

"You've seen her?" Connor asked.

"I met her once when I was trying to find you. She might be able to help us."

"So, fight seven floors of evil lawyer zombies or sweet talk a nasty little girl?" Gunn asked. "You know where my heart's at."

"Yeah, I gotta disagree." Buffy said. "My vote's for this white room. How do we get there?"

"Gonna need your help." Angel said to Fred. Everyone followed Angel out into the hallway where there were still zombies everywhere. They ran down the stairway to the next level and towards the elevator bank at the other side of the building. Angel pried open the elevator doors and Fred went into the elevator. "Do what you can." Angel ran back out to the hallway to help Connor, Buffy, Gunn, and Wes fend off the zombies while Fred worked at the control panel for the elevator. "Fred!"

"Working on it!" Come on, Fred, think. Bypass switch for a shutdown command."

"Come on, Fred." Buffy said.

Fred disconnected and reconnected wires, followed by the sound of circuitry powering up. "Angel!"

"Guys, let's go." Angel pulled Buffy and Connor into the elevator and everyone else followed.

"You remember the code?" Wesley asked.

"Hello, photographic memory." Angel pressed the elevator buttons for different floors. 18-23-20-28-27. Nothing happened. "What?"

"Maybe you forgot." Connor said.

"I didn't forget. Lemme try again." He pressed the elevator buttons again: 18-23-20-28-27.

Gunn looked out into the approaching crowd of zombies. "That's Gavin. I know that guy. Hold up." He stepped out of the elevator to cut off Gavin's head with the axe and then returned to the elevator. "I hate seeing someone I know like that, even someone I know I hate."

"No time like the now, Angel." Buffy said.

The elevator doors closed and another button magically appeared above the regular elevator buttons. "Here's hoping she's in a good mood." Angel said as he pressed the new button. Everything faded to white and then they found themselves in a huge empty white space. They looked around, trying to orient themselves, and Fred spotted the Beast kneeling over a girl who was lying on the floor on her back. The little girl was wearing a knee-length red dress with a white lace collar, white stockings, and black patent leather shoes.

"Oh no!" Fred gasped.

"It was waitin' for us all along." Gunn said.

"No, I don't think so." Buffy said.

"He wanted this." Angel said. "The girl…. whatever she is…. it came for her."

"Is there a way out of here?"

The little girl turned and pointed at them. "The answer is among you."

The Beast was holding his right hand out over the little girl's body and some black smoke was going from her body into his hand. When there was no more black smoke coming from her, the Beast stood and started walking toward them menacingly. Before it got to them, the little girl reached her hand out toward them and mumbled something. Everyone raised their weapons, preparing to fight the Beast, but they faded away before he got to them.

When the gang reappeared, they found themselves in the middle of the hotel lobby. Lorne was reading a book and sipping a martini. When he looked up and saw them standing there, his eyes went wide and he looked suspiciously at his drink.

"Home. She sent us." Angel said.

Connor walked up to Angel. "Dad?"

"Yeah, son?"

"Thank you. For saving me…. I mean."

"Any time you need help, just let me know."

"Buffy." Cordelia said. Everyone turned to look at her. "Willow called and wanted to know when you were going back to Sunnydale. I told her I didn't know, but it was probably going to be soon, right?"

Angel looked at Buffy almost pleading with her not to leave him alone in this crisis. Buffy shook her head. "I'll call her later."

"Are you sure? I mean, Connor can stay here while you check on things up there…."

"No." Buffy said forcefully. "I'm staying so I'll call Willow and Xander and tell them to hold down the fort until it's safe for me to come back." She noticed Angel hide a smile out of the corner of her eye. "Right now, I just want a bath. Being around zombies makes me feel like they can't make water hot enough."

"I need to change clothes." Angel said suddenly. "Mine smell like…. Zombie." He followed Buffy up the stairs with Cordelia's eyes glaring daggers into their backs. Connor decided he wanted a shower and headed up to his room.


	21. Chapter 21

Chapter 21

While Buffy was in the shower two days later, Angel had sat down in his big comfy chair with a sketchpad. He let his hand go on its own and wound up sketching the Beast. Someone knocked on his door, but Angel didn't answer it. Lorne opened the door and walked in, carrying a tray with two mugs on it.

"Room service. Hey. I brought you some nice O-positive here, freshly nuked for that right out of the jugular taste. And I brought the little blonde strumpet a mug of hot tea."

"Just put it on the table." Angel said without looking up.

Lorne put the tray down and looked at Angel's drawing. "Mmm. Good likeness. You wouldn't mind if I ran screaming from the room, would ya?"

"Shut the door on your way out."

"Oh, all right. You want to play it this way, we'll play it this way."

"Play what?"

"Angel, sweetie. Why so down? Don't interrupt me, I'm brooding."

"I'm not brooding, I'm researching."

"The apocalyptic Beast who's turned our city into his personal abattoir? Yeah, so's everybody else. Wesley included. Downstairs. Together."

"I work better alone."

"Oh-ho-ho. That's it. I see. It's all about you. Silly old Lorne, thinking it was about saving the world from ending. Welcome to the big leagues, Angel. You're a champion. You don't get personal days."

"There's nothing on this Beast, Lorne. I fought it once, it nearly decapitated me with my own stake. It's killed hundreds of people that I couldn't save. And it keeps showing up around my kid, my kid who's…."

"Not entirely unmaking with the moves on the girl who owns your heart still?"

"You want to shove that into English for me?"

"You're still worried that she's going to choose Connor over you." Angel shook his head. "Yes you are. Well, she's not. She wants you to the maximum, not Angel Jr. By saving that kid, she feels like she's saving a part of you. And in a way, she is. Connor's different. His aura's changing. He's happier. He's accepting. He's still angry with you for whatever reason, but he's getting over it slowly but surely." Lorne glanced at the bathroom door where he could smell Buffy's vanilla bubble bath floating on the steam from under the door. "I thought that you and Cordelia had kyrumption…. But then that little blonde goddess walks in the door and I was planting my foot firmly in my mouth, Miracle Grow and all."

"What are you talking about?"

"You'll see. That Slayer of yours is going to lead you to your reward. Why you left her in the first place is still a jumbled mess to me." Lorne shook his head. "You'd be in trouble if I thought for a second she liked demons."

"She does…."

"She doesn't love a demon, Angel. She loves a man. She loves you. And she's waiting for you to make your move."

"I can't…. I can't make a move, Lorne."

"Angel, you're hiding behind your curse. Make your move. You don't have to make sweet love with her. Just hold her and love her and let her know you won't leave her or hurt her again." Lorne patted Angel's shoulder and walked out.

Buffy opened the door to the bathroom and came out wrapped in a towel and glowing in the light from the water that still clung to her. "Hi." Angel choked out.

She smiled. "Hey you. What's up?"

"Nothing."

"Are you ok?"

"Yeah." Angel walked over to Buffy and stood there for a minute.

"You sure?"

"Huh?" He realized he'd been staring at her. "Oh, I'm sorry. It's something Lorne just said."

"What's that?"

"It's nothing. Really."

"Ok." Buffy started to head back into the bathroom with her pajamas.

"Buffy?" She turned back. "Do you…. Never mind."

"What is it Angel?"

"Nothing."

"Are you sure?"

"No. Go ahead and change."

She watched him for another minute. "Ok."

* * *

Later that evening, Buffy couldn't concentrate on the book she was reading as she sat on the bed. Angel was in the bed beside her with one arm thrown over the book over his eyes and his other hand holding her thigh. She slipped quietly out of bed and walked down to the lobby to get something to drink and see how Gunn and Fred were doing. They weren't down there, but she saw Connor standing at the doorway staring out into the nighttime. Buffy was about to say something when Cordelia walked out of the office with two mugs.

"Close one?" She asked when a siren could be heard outside.

"Four blocks over." Connor said.

"They're getting more frequent. Couple times I even dreamt I heard…."

"Screaming. It wasn't a dream. Things are falling apart out there."

"It's not your fault, you know."

"They don't want me here, do they? Angel doesn't want me here. It's because they think I'm connected to the Beast. That's why Buffy doesn't want me either."

"Buffy doesn't want you because she wants Angel. She's just using you."

Buffy lifted an eyebrow and was about to say something, but Cordelia gasped and her eyes went white. "What is it?" Connor asked. "A vision? What do you see?"

"Nothing. I…. I have to see Angel." Cordy turned and headed up the stairs.

Buffy dodged back into the shadows and Cordelia rushed past her without seeing her. As soon as the brunette was gone, Buffy headed downstairs. "Connor." He looked at her. "Don't give me that look. Cordelia's wrong, you know."

"About what?" Connor asked.

"I'm not using you."

"You're not?"

"Of course I'm not. I'm trying to raise you to be a good kid."

"I've already been raised."

"By a man poisoned with hatred for your true father who loves you very much and doesn't want to hurt you." Buffy paused and glanced at the way Cordelia had gone. "Connor….. Cordelia…. What has she been saying to you?"

"Nothing."

"Connor, have you…. Have you _done_ anything with her?"

"No. I haven't. But since nobody wants me except her…. Maybe I will."

"Connor, there's something not right about her."

"Are you jealous?"

"What? No."

"Yes you are. You can't stand that another woman is showing me attention."

Buffy shook her head. "Whatever she's been saying to you is a lie. You're the closest thing to a son I'll ever have. I wish you would see that." Connor shook his head. "Do you trust me?"

"I don't know."

"Yes you do."

"Yes, I trust you."

"Can you promise me something?"

"Depends."

"No. I want your word now."

"Fine. I promise to do whatever it is you're asking of me."

"If Cordelia tries anything with you…. I want you to tell me."

"Why?"

"Connor."

"All right, I promise. I promise if Cordelia tries anything with me, you'll be the first person to know."

"Thank you."

Connor shrugged. "Whatever."

Buffy watched as he turned and headed towards his room. She hoped that Cordelia was still occupied with telling Angel about her vision. Gunn and Fred walked down the stairs and stopped dead when they saw Buffy standing there staring at nothing, her eyes slightly glazed.

"Buffy?" Fred asked quietly.

"What time is it?" Buffy asked, shaking off the uneasy feeling she had.

"A little after six." Gunn said. "You ok?"

"Just…. Thinking."

"Good thoughts or bad?"

"Not sure." Buffy's stomach rumbled. "I know I'm thinking that I'm hungry, though."

"Well, since it's still chaos out there, I'm guessing a trip to IHOP is out." Fred said, disappointed.

"Hey, if you're willing to fight the hordes of demons out there, go for it. Me? I prefer to make my own IHOP."

"You cook?" Gunn asked.

"I can make breakfast mostly. There's a couple of other things, but don't ask me to experiment. The last time I did that…. Well, let's just say that stain's not going anywhere and I'm glad my mother wasn't around for it."

"Maybe with all this stress, that'd be something to cheer everyone up." Fred said.

"What? Stains?" Gunn asked.

"No. A big feast for everyone."

"No time." Angel said, walking down the stairs with Cordelia right behind him and Lorne yawning behind her.

"What's going on?" Gunn asked.

"The Powers are sending us a wake-up call."

"Oh. Good. Cause I was wondering…." Buffy said.

"Sure, we've been…. I don't want to say demolished…. beaten. And sure, it's slightly…. demoralizing. But from here on out, we're on the offensive. We're gonna find out this thing's weaknesses, we're gonna go in prepared, and we're gonna fight smart. It's time to take down the Beast."

"Uh, we're all behind you, Angel, a hundred percent, but how can we be prepared when there's nothing on this thing." Fred asked.

"And weaknesses? It's not a sure bet El Destructo has any." Lorne said.

"Everyone has an Achilles' heel." Angel said.

Gunn shrugged. "Yeah, but until we find his, we're gonna be coolin' ours, cause we got nothing without a new lead." Everyone stopped and looked at the front door where Gwen Raiden had just entered.

Angel glanced at Buffy. "Gwen."

"Hi there. Long time, no hand-to-hand." She walked into the lobby and looked at Buffy. "I remember you."

"The woman you killed?" Connor asked sharply. "Yeah, that's her."

"Kicked you in the face, too, didn't I, cherry? Sorry 'bout that. I really do try to avoid contact." She glanced at Angel. "Mostly."

Buffy noticed the private exchange. Angel didn't notice Buffy watching him. "Cordelia, this is…."

"I know who she is." Cordelia said. "Caught your little show on the omniscient higher plane channel. Thanks."

Gwen looked at Cordelia. "So, you must be the girl who makes his heart go pitter-pat. Figuratively, at least." She looked at Angel. "You must be so happy."

"I am." Angel said. "But she's not the…. That's Buffy."

"Blondie over there?" Gwen made a mildly surprised face. "Hmm…. Thought she was your little sister or his girlfriend." She pointed at Connor then switched her gaze back to Angel and Buffy. "Now I really do see the resemblance to Barbie and Ken."

"Listen, Gwen, we're not having the best week, to be honest."

"Tell me about it. I mean, really, tell me. Freak to freak. Is the world about to end, or what?"

"Something happen to you?"

"Met with a client last night in the oil fields, which is odd, cause I bagged for this guy six years…. big money…. and he never wanted to meet before."

"Fascinating as these details must seem to you, we're dealing with much more important stuff right now." Cordelia interrupted. "Apocalypse. End of the world."

"Also, while we were talking, he, um, got his chest punched out a big demon with a head made of rock. Demon, ok? The whole nine…. cloven feet and horns and teeth…." She glanced at Lorne. "He wasn't wearing lame though."

"Yeah, the evil ones can't pull it off. It gets camp." Lorne retorted.

"This client of yours, was anything removed from the body?" Wesley asked.

"Didn't see." Gwen said. "But you are, hands down, the weirdest person I know, so I figured I'd ask you what's going on."

"Um, excuse me." Fred said. "Not that I don't still bear a grudge against you, because I do…. but your client didn't happen to be a skinless saber-tooth tiger or composed entirely of light, maybe?"

"Light came out of his chest. How did you know?"

"You wanted a pattern. That makes three." Gunn said.

"He's killing the Ra-tet." Fred said.

"What's a Ra-tet?" Gwen asked.

"A mystical order. Each totem representing a stage in Ra's journey across the sky." Wesley pointed to a diagram in the book. "Here's your client. Two others, these, are dead."

"That means there's two totems left: Manjet and Semkhet." Buffy said, reading over Fred's shoulder.

"The last sighting of Majet was rumored two years ago in Belize, and Semkhet is said to live in a cave in Death Valley." Fred said.

"Then that's easy." Angel said. "All we have to do is find Semkhet and…. protect him."

"Yeah, well, won't that be a hoot." Lorne said, browsing through a book. "Looks like Semkhet is puddy-tat to the world's scariest six-year-old." He held up a drawing of Mesektet with her arm around a huge cat.

"It could be dangerous." Cordelia said.

"I'll take Buffy." Angel said.

"Well, shouldn't we all go? It might…."

"We can handle it. Super powers." Angel put his arm around Buffy's waist and escorted her toward the door.

"It's a four hour trip, both ways."

"I'm sure we'll find something to talk about." With that, Buffy was ushered out the door and into Angel's car.


	22. Chapter 22

Chapter 22

Angel and Buffy climbed down a rocky cliff. Angel's foot slipped a bit, causing sand and pebbles to fall noisily. Buffy almost giggled. "Where were you when they taught stealth in super powers?" Angel made it to the bottom of the cliff. Buffy slipped and lost her grip, falling into Angel's arms. "I did that on purpose."

"That's pretty pathetic." Angel said.

"If it's a lie, or if it's the truth." He put her down, his hands lingering on her waist for a moment, and then they continued on. Candles were lit inside the cave and Angel drew his sword and lead Buffy into the cave.** "**I thought we were here to protect this thing."

"We are, unless it's evil. Which, if it is, we prevent the Beast from killing it by killing it ourselves." They stopped when they spotted the bloody remains of what once was Semkhet lying on the floor.

"So much for protecting it."

"Looks like it was ripped apart. Charring around the edges. This is definitely our guy. The Beast is systematically executing these totems. I just don't know why."

A man came around the corner. He had a gravelly Brooklyn accent and was wearing a Hawaiian print shirt, khaki shorts, and a straw hat. "I do. It's gonna turn out the sun."

"What're you doing here?" Angel asked.

"Uh, standing in the remains of my fallen brethren, trying not to have an anxiety attack. Who are you two?"

"I'm Angel. That's Buffy. Got a name?"

"I am Manjet, sacred guardian of the Shen, keeper of the Orb of Ma'at, and devotee of light. Off hours, I like Manny."

"You're Manjet?"

"Right."

"The last totem of the Ra-tet?"

"Right."

"Wait, I thought you were in Belize." Buffy said.

"Was till I heard Mesektet got whacked. Never liked that chick…. evil, right down to her Mary Janes. But family, what're you gonna do?"

"What did you mean before?" Angel asked. "The Beast is gonna turn out the sun. Is that some kind of metaphor?"

"Sorry, I don't speak college-boy. I said what I meant. This Beast you're talking about…. he's looking to put an end to daylight. Wants to blot out the sun permanently."

"You're saying that once the totems are dead, the sun disappears." Buffy said.

"Uh, not disappears, exactly. And it's not just killing us, either. Uh, there's props and a ritual and a chant and a thing and a…. suffice it to say, it ain't east. And folks in the Ra-tet, they got some serious juice which is why I never felt worried before."

"But you're worried now."

"Well, there's four out of five down. Let's just say, I'm not looking forward to my retirement in Boca."

"So, the lights go out. Then what?"

"The city sinks into never-ending darkness, that's what. Vamps, creepies, crawlies, things that go bump in the night are suddenly bumping 24/7. The whole of Los Angeles turns into a, uh…."

"A demon playground." Angel said.

"Bingo. And that's before it starts to spread. California, North America…. eventually, hello, global blackout. The world is the Devil's oyster."

"We gotta stop him."

"You sure do and good luck with that." Manny turned to walk out of the cave.

Angel ran after him. "Where do you think you're going?"

"Look, it's probably just a few hours till this guy catches up with me. I want to spend my last moments with my oldest, dearest friends down at the, uh, Pink Pony Lounge." He glanced at Buffy. "I'll buy ya a lap dance if I can watch."

"Forget that. We can take you somewhere safe, Manny. We can protect you."

"Right, Super Hunk and Gothic Barbie. This thing takes out Mesektet, and you two are gonna protect me?"

"I don't see anybody else lined up for the job."

Manny leaned in towards Angel and looked over at Buffy. "You think she'd give me a lap dance?"

Angel grabbed Manny's shirt and hauled him towards the cave's exit. "Come on."

"What?"

"She's not for sale."

* * *

Angel entered the lobby, followed by Buffy and Manny. "Any movement from the Beast while we were gone?"

"Not a peep." Gunn said. "Just wasting time trying to find ways to kill him, which, by the way, there aren't any."

"Uh, that doesn't look like Semkhet." Fred said.

"Semkhet's not available, sweetheart." Manny said. "Slight case of being ripped open to death in a cave. I don't suppose I could interest you in short, stocky orb keeper?"

"Guys, I'd like you to meet Manny, the last totem of the Ra-tet." Angel said.

"And one of the horniest guys you'll ever meet." Buffy said, making sure she was a safe distance away from him.

"This…. is a being of supreme power?" Wesley asked.

"You ought to see me in my Armani." Manny said.

"What happened to the second-to-last one?" Lorne asked.

"Somebody already ripped out the toy surprise." Buffy said. "Good news though? We discovered the Beast's plan."

"Which is….?" Gunn asked.

"To blot out the sun for all eternity. You guys got a john?" Manny asked.

"Right back there." Angel said.

"Thanks, pal." He walked out of the room, grabbing newspapers off the desk on the way.

"Why did the small yucky man say that? He's joking, right?" Cordelia asked.

"No. Apparently there's a ritual using members of the Ra-tet to change day into night. Forever." Angel said.

"As far as evil plans go, it doesn't suck." Wesley said.

"He's killed four of the five so far. I figure, we keep Manny safe, the lights stay on long enough, and we find a way to defeat this thing."

"But where are we going to hide him?" Fred asked. "We need a small, controlled space."

"Secure the perimeter. Guards on duty at all times."

"Kitchen's got a meat locker." Gunn offered.

"Brilliant." Wesley said. "Let's store the one thing that'll stave off perpetual darkness in the home of the only people we're sure the demon knows."

"You know what? You got a better idea, Einstein?"

"Gimme time."

"I know a place." Gwen said, getting up off the couch.

"Great, as long as it's not some non-descript tenement downtown with discarded boxes in the stairwells and peeling plaster and the faint odor of dead people." Cordelia said.

* * *

Gwen led Angel, Buffy, Cordelia, Manny, and Gunn up the stairs in a dingy walk-up apartment building. Cordelia was looking around in distaste. "I was right. I do smell dead people."

"You know, you didn't have to come, Cordelia, if you didn't want to." Angel said.

"Well, what if I have another vision. Better to be here with you, right?"

"I'd rather be here than back at the hotel, plowing through them annoying books with the symbolic manifestos and the 'brilliant.'" Gunn said.

"Never trust the book or the bookies, kid." Manny said. "Real juju takes place on the QT. That's why you can't find this Beast, he's too powerful. I mean, taking out the Ra-tet…."

"Speaking of, ain't you Tet folks supposed to be all mighty and colossal?"

"The mid-day totem is man. The neutral totem, the potential of every human soul."

"So, you're just a guy, then?" Buffy asked.

"There's more to me than meets the eye. For example, I'm immortal. Unless I'm ritually murdered, of course."

Gwen used shocks from her bare hand to unlock the electric lock on her door.

"Oh, well it's too bad you came here, then." Cordelia said. "Cause if you're gonna be ritually murdered, it's probably gonna be in a hell-hole…. Like this." Gwen led them into the apartment and turned on the lights. In stark contrast to the stairwell they walked up, the apartment was high-class all the way. Walls paneled in wood, expensive rugs, luxurious decor all around.

"Come on in." Gwen said. "My butler's already in Tahiti, so we're on our own here. I'll hit the kitchen for supplies later if I can just, well, find the kitchen."

"The Axis of Pythia…." Angel whispered to Cordelia. "That thing I used to find you on the higher plane…. it's worth 33 million dollars. I gave it back to Gwen when I was done."

"Let's get you set up in the study." Gwen opened the double doors to the study, and Manny, Gunn, Buffy, Angel and Cordelia followed. Gwen walked over to the bookcase and tilted a book on the shelf, opening a secret panel, revealing a steel door. "You never pass up a good cliché." She used shocks from her hand to unlock the steel door. "It's equipped as a panic-room, too. 12 inches of solid steel, it's own ventilation system…."

"Homey." Buffy said.

"You should be safe here." Gwen said to Manny.

"Don't worry, I ain't expecting any miracles." Manny said, walking into the panic room.

"So, guard duty. What do you think?" She looked at Angel. "You and me, first shift?"

"Uh, wouldn't it make more sense to split up?" Cordelia asked. "At least one super power per shift. That way if horn boy shows up, we mere mortals might stand a chance."

"Makes sense to me." Gunn said.

"Ok then, I'll take Denzel." Gwen said.

"Uh, actually, it's Gunn. Not that I mind the freakishly accurate comparison, but you will keep your hands to yourself."

"Four hours on, four hours off." Angel said. "Bunk down off duty, get as much sleep as we can. We're already tired. We got a long few days ahead of us." Angel took Buffy's hand and left the room. Cordelia followed. "Uh, what are you doing?" Angel asked her.

"Sleeping with you guys." Cordy said.

"I'm sure there's another room down the hall."

"Oh no. You two are not sleeping by yourselves…. Together."

"We've been sleeping together for the last two months. And I'm still Angel."

"Your soul's bound?"

"No. I meant…. We're not going to do that Cordelia."

"But…."

"Good night." Buffy said, shutting the door in Cordelia's face.

* * *

Angel and Buffy walked into the study with Cordelia tailing behind them. Gwen stood and turned to face Angel. "How's Manny?" Angel asked.

"Gave him some magazines about half hour ago to keep him occupied." Gunn said.

"Swimsuit Edition." Gwen smirked. "He's occupied. Come on. I'll show you where you can crash." Gwen and Gunn left the study, leaving Cordelia, Buffy, and Angel.

Cordelia, mug in hand, sat in one of the chairs. "So, all this time alone together. Could be good for us." Angel sat in the chair next to her and Buffy slid into the big chair with him, squeezing in beside him with her legs between his. "Maybe we should talk."

Angel pulled up a table in front of his chair and he and Buffy took a sip of their drinks before setting them on the table. "Maybe we shouldn't."

"Valid point." Cordelia sipped her drink.

The next thing any of them knew Gwen and Gunn were standing over them shouting. "Angel, get up." Gwen yelled. "Buffy!"

Gunn shook Cordelia. "Cordy. Cordy, come on. Snap out of it."

"Please, I'm awake." Buffy said.

"What the hell are you doing, falling asleep on watch?" Gwen snapped.

"I wasn't…. We weren't…." Angel said groggily.

"What's happening?" Cordelia asked.

"….asleep." Angel came to and stood, panicked and knocking Buffy off him onto the floor. "Manny!" Buffy jumped up and she and Angel went to the panic room, followed by Gwen, Gunn, and Cordelia. Jaws agape, they stared at the walls and floor that were covered in blood. "It got him."

"Ugh. You think?" Cordelia asked.

"You know, I'm a Slayer." Buffy said. "I've seen some bad things that would make the Hulk throw up. But this…. I really think I'm going to be sick."

Gwen turned and paced in the study while Cordelia and Gunn looked in on Angel, who had gone into the panic room to investigate the aftermath of Manny's demise. Buffy was sitting on the arm of a chair shaking her head.

"So, was that one of Manny's powers…. extra blood and guts?" Buffy asked. "Cause I mean that's…. that's a lot of blood and guts in there. No way all that Stephen King came out of a normal guy."

Angel came out of the room with a grim look on his face. "It was the Beast. It was looking for something Manny had."

"How do you know?" Gunn asked.

Angel held up Manny's hat, which had a huge hole in the top. "Oh, it emptied out his head to find it."

"Wait." Gwen said. "Manny said he was an orb-keeper, right? Maybe he kept an orb."

"In his head?" Cordelia asked.

"Where do you keep yours?"

"Hold on a second. She's right." Angel said.

"Of course." Cordy retorted.

"Semkhet…. the demon in the cave. You said someone already pulled out the toy surprise. The Beast is pulling something out of these totems."

"Did you know that?" Buffy asked Gwen. "Is that why the Beast punched through your client's chest?"

"Something you're not telling me, Gwen?" Angel asked.

"All right. My client…. the Beast grabbed something out of him too. A little, metal boxy thing."

"And you neglected to mention this fact?" Cordelia asked.

"I don't know. I thought the box might be worth something. Look, the apocalypse was coming, there was a giant killer demon. I panicked. And, oh, by the way, I'm still a thief, and as a rule we don't share information."

"Ok, what about this cave demon?" Gunn asked. "You think the Big Ugly went treasure hunting inside of him?"

"It's definitely possible." Buffy said.

"Yes." Cordelia started to pace. "But what's impossible is thinking that somehow, someway, the Beast found where we were hiding, spiked the drinks we made ourselves, snuck through this unreasonably large apartment on the tippie-toes of his cloven feet right up to the vault and killed poor Manny, unseen and unheard."

"Maybe whoever did it didn't have cloven feet." Gunn said. "The answer is among you. I can't be the only one thinking it."

"Don't be ridiculous. Connor doesn't even know where we are." Buffy said.

"You didn't call him?" Angel asked her.

"He doesn't have a phone. I can't believe you'd even consider…."

"Even if she didn't call him, last time I checked, that boy could track anybody anywhere." Gunn said.

"But I'd know if he'd been here. I'd be able to smell him." Angel said.

"Same way you smelled whatever it was spiking your blood?"

"This is impossible." Gwen said.

"Yeah, I thought we were pretty clear on the whole impossible issue." Cordelia snapped.

"Unseen and unheard." Gwen sighed. "Security cameras."


	23. Chapter 23

Chapter 23

Gwen walked out through the double doors to the ante room where they first entered the apartment. Angel, Buffy, Gunn, and Cordelia followed. "Got 'em in every room." Gwen said. "We just gotta rewind the tapes.

"Ok." Angel said. He paused and look at Gunn. "In the mean time, call the hotel. Tell 'em about Manny. Tell 'em about the toy surprises too. See if you can find out what they're for, and how we can stop the Beast from using them."

Gunn reached out and stopped Angel. "Angel, about Connor…."

"Check it out later, like we do every other lead. Go." Gunn left the apartment and Angel went to the security room where the girls were. Gwen was looking at some monitors, but they were only showing static.

"What's that?" Cordelia asked.

"That's nothing." Gwen said. "The tapes just go blank. It's like the electrics got cut. Lemme check the systems log." She pressed a button, causing a keyboard to pop out and typed on it for a few seconds.

"You have to talk to him, Angel." Buffy whispered.

"Who? Gunn? I just did." Angel said.

"Connor, you dolt, and you know who I meant. So why push my buttons?"

"Maybe because it's nice to make you crazy for a change."

"You can't seriously think he did it, when there are other more liar-like suspects." She glanced at Gwen.

"Yeah, well, so far, he's the only one's got a connection to the Beast."

"I've got the origin of the blackout." Gwen turned to face them. "It kicked off in a small subset of the municipal A-14 grid…. that's the one under this block…. about ten minutes before your watch."

"What does that mean?" Cordelia asked.

"It means that somebody knew when you were gonna take over that watch, and somebody knew who's drinks to spike. You ask me, this is an inside job."

"Funny how you were inside at the time."

Gwen just rolled her eyes and turned back to the monitors. "Look, enough." Angel said. "Let's just focus on the guy trying to blot out the sun and point fingers later."

* * *

Angel and Buffy came into the hotel lobby, followed by Gwen and Cordy. "I'm just saying, it never would've happened on my watch." Gwen said. 

"Gosh, no. Cause you're Super Tramp." Cordelia said.

"What's the latest?" Angel asked Lorne.

"I checked out the ritual like you asked." Lorne showed Buffy and Angel a diagram in a book. "Looks like there's some assembly required. Turns out these three pieces were inside the totems. The Beast kills the totems, yanks out the pieces, and builds himself a big old light switch."

"What about the other two? What'd he yank out of them?" Buffy asked.

"Uh, well, I know he sucked the energy out of the little girl and he ripped the heart out of the shaman, but what's not clear is…. how he's gonna use 'em."

"These wings…. they're metal, right?" Gwen asked. "Get me close enough, and I can melt them. That'll slow him down."

"If we find him in time." Buffy said. "He's already got all the pieces."

"Plus we don't even know where he's gonna perform this ritual." Cordelia said.

"Sun or no sun, I'm not worried about slowing him down." Gunn said. "I'm worried about taking him out."

Wesley and Fred walked up to the group. "We may have a solution for that." Wesley said.

"We've done a lot of research, and we think we've found a way to get rid of the Beast." Fred said. "A portal."

"Hmph. Figures." Gunn said.

"We've tried conventional methods…. firearms, the usual weaponry…. none of which seem to work." Wesley said.

"But if we stand against it long enough to find a way to corner it, maneuver it into position…." Buffy said.

"Then maybe we can send this thing back to the Hell Sweet Hell it came from." Lorne said.

Buffy walked over to Lorne. "Hey, is Connor here?"

"Sorry, dumpling. He left. Said something about your father's apartment."

"Thank you."

"Ok, so we got everything we need to stop the ritual." Angel said. "Let's clear out of here, try to locate the Beast."

Cordelia gasped as another vision came to her. "Oh, my God."

"Another vision?"

"Same one, only there was more of it. A massacre. So many people on the ground, dead, dying. The screaming was so loud."

"Could you hear the demon?"

"No. But whoever he was talking to, they felt familiar. Like someone I know."

"Connor."

Buffy touched Angel's arm. "I think it's time we bring him into this, Angel. If nothing else, he's our best chance at finding the Beast."

"Well, go get him."

"He's not here."

"Where…."

"My dad's apartment. It's the first place we stayed when I brought him back to LA. It's near the hills."

"Which ones?"

"Beverly."

"Oh. Of course." Buffy shrugged. "Well, let's go get him."

* * *

Connor fell out of his window, landing on the street right as Angel pulled up. Gunn was driving, with Angel in shotgun and Buffy between them. Cordelia, Wes, and Fred were in the back seat. Everyone got out when the car stopped. 

Buffy dove to Connor's side. "Oh, my God! Connor!" She held his bloody head in her hands and looked over at Angel. He was holding his coat over his head as protection from the light. She could tell he wanted to go to Connor's side, but Gunn prevented him by pushing him to the shade of the building instead.

"What happened?" Buffy asked.

"The Beast. It's upstairs." Connor groaned.

"Everybody gear up." Angel said. "Wes, you got everything you need?"

"Ready." Wesley confirmed.

"Gwen, go for the orb, the wings, whatever you can get your hands on. Can't let him finish the spell. Gunn, you, Buffy, and I'll keep the Beast busy long enough for Fred and Wesley to work the portal mojo. Cordy…. keep Connor safe."

"Dad…." Connor said, trying to get up.

"It's ok, Connor." Angel said. "I'm here now. Let's go."

Connor gripped Buffy's hand for a minute, but then let her go. She smiled at him and ran inside the building. They burst into the studio apartment and looked at the Beast. It looked up at them, but didn't stop the ritual.

"He's already started." Fred said.

"Start the spell." Angel ordered.

Wesley and Fred stood side-by-side, both holding books, and began chanting. Buffy and Angel engaged the Beast, but they were easily overpowered. While the Beast was distracted, Gwen snuck over to the artifact, but the Beast picked up a chair and knocked her down, causing her to drop the artifact. It broke into its original pieces.

"The orb!" Angel called. "Don't let it…." But his warning was too late as the orb rolled away from Gwen right to the feet of the Beast. The Beast smirked at Angel. It moved back in the circle he had drawn for the ritual and began chanting again.

"Angel…." Wesley got Angel's attention as the space in front of the Beast started to shimmer.

"Yeah, I got it." Angel said. "Everybody get ready." The Beast was still chanting while the shimmering portal formed in front of him. "Now or never." Angel, Buffy, Gunn, and Gwen rushed the Beast, forcing it backwards through the portal. As he went into it and disappeared, the portal closed.

"We did it. Didn't we?" Gwen asked.

"Um, why is it still getting dark?" Fred asked.

"I told you once…." Everyone turned to see the Beast standing in the doorway behind them. "You need not be my enemy Angelus." The Beast walked closer to them, then swallowed the darkened orb. "We'll meet again. Soon." It leapt out of the room through the window.

Buffy looked outside. "Oh my god. The sun. It's gone."

* * *

Angel, Buffy, Gwen, Wesley, Fred, and Gunn walked outside where the sun was gone and the darkness was getting darker. Cordelia ran up to them "Angel, we have to talk." 

"I can't believe we lost the sun." Fred said.

"Angel, I think I figured it out."

"So have I. The Beast knows me." Angel said.

"No, it doesn't. It knows Angelus. Am I right? While you were upstairs, it came to me. I wasn't having a vision of the demon, I was having a memory of it."

"How's that again?" Gwen asked.

"I told you, when I was a higher being, I'd experienced everything you'd ever done as Angelus. But since I've been back, my memory's been fading until the Powers decided to jog it, I guess. Angel, I saw you, long ago, standing in a field of bodies with the Beast."

"You knew this thing, and you didn't tell us?" Connor asked.

"No, I couldn't come up against something like that and not remember." Angel said.

"The answer is among you." Gunn said. "It's what the little girl meant, isn't it? This was never about Connor, it's about…."

"Angelus." Buffy said with a shudder and a dark look at Angel.

"I'm telling you, I don't know this beast. I'd remember." Angel said.

"Like you remember falling asleep before Manny got killed?" Cordelia asked.

"What?"

"An inside job." Gwen said.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means you're a suspect." Wesley said. "If Cordelia's right, we should admit the possibility that this Beast may have some sort of power over you to make you do things, to make you forget."

"And he has a plan." Cordelia said. "The rain of fire, taking down Wolfram and Hart, even blotting out the sun. I think I think now, those were only the first steps to something bigger."

"I don't know what to tell any of you, cause I don't know what the plan is." Angel said.

"No, but Angelus might." Buffy and Angel looked at him sharply. "There's only one way we're gonna defeat this Beast. We need Angelus."

Everyone looked at Buffy and Angel and they exchanged glances before Buffy shook her head. "Whoa. There's got to be another way."

"If Angelus knows him…."

"We can't bring him out." Angel said.

"All you two have to do is…." Cordelia started.

"And we're not going to!" Buffy interrupted. "No way."

"Talk about performance anxiety." Gunn said.

"No. No performance." Angel said. "We're not bringing Angelus out."

"I'm sure if we took the strictest precautions…." Wesley started.

Buffy laughed at him. "Strictest precautions?"

"Yes…."

"He'll laugh at you, kind of like I'm doing now, but only he'll be doing it over your corpses."

"You'll be there."

Buffy shook her head. "If you knew how close I was to giving up the last time he was free…. You wouldn't be making that statement. Don't put your safety in my hands if Angelus is near. I'll hand it over to him within a week."

"Buffy…."

"He pushed me to my limits, Wesley. He knows exactly where to hit me to get me back to that point in an instant. Five months…. Five months of torture…."

Angel touched Buffy's back. "I won't put her through it again. And I won't put any of you through it. We'll find another way."

* * *

Angel leaned over his desk and looked at Lorne. He had just sang for the demon to see if Lorne could see what Angelus knew. Buffy was sitting on the desk near Angel trying not to laugh at Angel's singing. 

"You sure?" Angel asked Lorne.

"Sorry Bucko, I got nothing." Lorne said. "Although your choice of _The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia_ might have thrown me a wee. I'm personally not huge with the Vicki Lawrence love."

"Doesn't make sense. I remember everything Angelus did, I did. Every family butchered, every child slaughtered, every throat ripped out. I remember every detail of all of it."

"So how come you don't have a smidge of any recollection of a giant magma demon with ram horns and goat legs? Hey, alls I can tell you, stud, is if it's in there, it's buried deep….deep inside Angelus."

"Then that's where it stays. Even if I wanted it, there's no way to bring Angelus back."

"She's sitting right there."

"I would never force her. She knows Angelus…. Intimately." Buffy looked away, ashamed of herself for the things she had done with Angelus five years ago. No one knew except Angel and her. No one would ever know. "She knows what he can do and…."

"She won't be able to stop him." Lorne said with a nod. "I know. She doesn't have to sing for me to know." He took Buffy's hand gently. "Your secret is safe with me, sugarplum. No one will ever know except us three."

Buffy smiled sadly at him. "Thank you."

Angel took Buffy's hand and led her out of the office. "Did Lorne help you remember?" Fred asked.

"No." Angel said.

"Anything at all?" Cordelia asked.

"Nothing. So what have we got?"

Fred looked through papers on her desk. "A puzzle with missing pieces and some cryptic gibberish. Angel, whatever power this device had got swallowed up by the Beast. It won't bring back the sun. Without the orb, it's as useless as…."

"Us." Gunn said. "Face it man, we're losing ground. Pretty much the only victory we can claim is that we're not dead yet."

"Ok, look, I know things haven't been going our way lately, but…. things change." Angel said. "And we're not down for the count yet. But the Beast is not our only concern right now. Till we figure out how to end eternal darkness, it's a devil's playground out there."

"Just the way you like it, huh?" Connor muttered.

"Something to say, Connor? You got a problem?"

"You."

"Hey, Connor." Buffy snapped.

"Acting like the big leader, like we don't already know what we know."

"And what do you know?" Angel asked.

"Everybody thought it was me. Maybe even I was starting to, but it was you all along. You're the one who's working with the Beast."

"I'm not."

"Well, then, you're a puppet. Either way, everything's going to hell because of you. You're the reason that the sun is gone, that I don't have a home to go back to. You're the reason that she…. It's you. You're the reason my life sucks."

"Get over it."

"Stop it!" Buffy snapped. "Both of you, just stop!

"Uh, not to be a buttinsky, but could we get back to the pep talky thing?" Lorne laughed nervously.

"I'm not one to turn down a little pep, but I'd much prefer we had a plan." Fred said.

Wesley walked through the front door with a man in purple robes. "Here's one. Him."

"Who's he?" Angel asked.

"Wo-Pang. He can deliver Angelus to us."

"I thought you said…." Gunn said.

"Me too." Cordelia agreed.

"Fred, would you mind brewing some tea for our guest?" Wesley asked.

"Oh, um, sure. Right this way, Mr. Pang." Fred walked away with Wo-Pang. "Any special tea you…"

"How about Orange Zinger?" Wo-Pand asked.

"Ah. Ok."

Angel grabbed Wesley's arm and hauled him in the office. Buffy followed. "What do you mean, deliver Angelus?" Angel asked.

"Wo-Pang's a shaman, order of the Kun-Sun-Dai."

"Dark mystics. You brought a dark mystic here without talking to me?"

"Claims he has the power to extract souls."

"Claims?"

"More importantly, he can restore them. Once we learn what it is Angelus knows about the Beast…."

"We're not bringing out Angelus." Buffy and Angel said.

"You don't have a choice."

"Actually I do." Angel said. "That was it. You want to hear it again? Not with the bringing."

"Don't make this harder than it has to be, Angel. There's no Plan B, and we're running out of time. People are in serious danger."

"Then unleashing Angelus is the last thing that we should do." Buffy said.

"If he's here, I'm not." Angel said. "I won't be able to protect anyone from the Beast or from me."

"It's only temporary. We'll take all the necessary precautions in the interim, contain you. I'm not blind to the risks. I know what Angelus…."

"You have no idea what Angelus is, Wesley. All you know is what you've read in books. You've never had the pleasure of his company, and you're not going to." Angel walked out the door. "Get rid of the shaman." Angel walked out of the hotel to the gardens.

* * *

A/N You're gonna love the next chapter! But just to be wicked, I'm going to make you wait for it! MWA HAHAHAHA!! 


	24. Chapter 24

Chapter 24

Buffy watched Angel out in the garden as he stared mindlessly. The situation was looking hopeless. They weren't any further to saving the world than they had been a week ago. She was starting to think that bringing Angelus out would be the only way to save the world. She also found that thought ironic.

"I know you don't want to, but I think it's the only way." Cordelia said, suddenly standing next to Buffy.

Buffy looked at her. "Yeah."

"It's ok to admit it."

"Cordelia, did you really see everything Angelus did while you were up there?"

"Yes." Cordelia looked at Buffy. "I know you're scared. I know the things he did to you…. I know the things you did to him." Buffy looked away. "I don't care. I've never cared. I always figured you had done that with him." Cordelia, in a moment of rare compassion towards Buffy, took Buffy's hand and squeezed it. "You have friends here that will do their best to protect you. He won't hurt you."

With a deep sigh, Buffy opened the doors and walked out. She looked up at the dark sky and then around at the garden. "They're all going to die…. the flowers, the plants, the trees…. without sun."

Angel looked over at her as she sat down beside him. "Do you…. Do you think Connor's right…. that I'm being used by the Beast without even knowing?"

"No."

"Are you just saying that?"

"I don't know, Angel."

"Well, if I am, then I'm already a danger to you, all of you."

"Well, not like Angelus would be." Buffy shot back sarcastically.

"You've changed your mind."

Buffy looked away. "No." She took a deep breath and looked Angel in the eyes. "But if it saves the world…."

"I can't ask you to…."

She took his hand. "It's my decision."

"I don't know if I'll be able to…."

"Don't think about it. Besides, if I can't give you that one moment of happiness, then we have a shaman all ready to go."

Angel kissed Buffy's palm and wrist. "You make me happy just by being here. Feeling you, kissing you, making love to you…. I can't imagine anything better." Buffy smiled. "Are you sure?"

"No. But it's for the good of the world and that's what my job entails, right?"

Angel stood and Buffy followed him as he walked through the lobby, barking orders on the way to his office. "We're going to need a cage."

"Cage?" Lorne asked.

"Strong one. About 10 x 12, steel reinforced, 2-inch bars, maybe 3. I'll make some calls." Angel went into his office and shut the door.

"What…. do you think something like that's gonna hold the Beast?" Gunn asked.

"It's not for the Beast. It's for him." Buffy said.

"What did you say to him?" Cordelia asked.

"What needed to be said." Buffy walked over to Wesley and pulled him aside. "Can you make sure there's no one anywhere near Angel's door?"

"What are you….?" Wesley started.

"Can the shaman be ready to summon Angel's soul into his little jar?"

"How did you know about the jar?"

"I saw him carrying it and I remembered seeing it in a book somewhere."

"Are you sure? The shaman can…."

"No. It's too risky."

"So is your plan."

"It'll be done by the time you get that cage built. I'll knock him out once he turns and I'll get your help to drag him down to the basement."

"He's smart."

"I know."

"He'll know what you're doing."

"Of course." She looked up at Wesley. "I can handle him."

"I'll get the shaman ready for it. And I'll make them think the shaman is the one who did it…. Not you."

"Thank you."

Angel walked out of the office and looked at Buffy. Connor walked by and Angel grabbed his wrist, stopping him. "Connor."

"What?"

"Look, I know you like to think that I'm the enemy, but if this works, I will be. I'm gonna become the one thing you were raised to believe I was. The thing I never…. never wanted you to see."

"Yeah. I think I can handle it."

"Uh-huh. Well, just keep in mind that whatever Angelus says, whatever he does…. remember, he's not your father. I am. No matter what happens…. or, happened…. I…. I love you." Connor started to walked away. "Look, one more thing. Since I'm gonna be out of commission for a while, I want you to, you know, take care of everybody. Especially Buffy. Keep everyone safe. That means, if anything should go wrong with Angelus and Buffy, you're gonna have to kill me."

"Ok."

"If…. anything goes wrong."

"Right. I got it." Connor walked off.

Buffy turned away and headed up the stairs. She made it look like she was upset at Angel's decision and Angel followed her, making it look like he was rushing off to talk to her. It worked because he heard Gunn say, "I don't think she's too happy. That's going to be a long fight."

* * *

Angel caught up to Buffy and they walked into Angel's room together, locking the door behind them. They made their way to the bed slowly, dragging their feet a bit. Angel sat on the end of the bed first and looked up at Buffy. She smiled nervously and sat down next to him. After a moment, their eyes met and they started to laugh.

"I can't believe how nervous I am." Angel said. "It's like I'm a boy again."

Buffy smiled. "I don't think I was this nervous our first time."

"I'll be gentle."

"You don't have to." Buffy said a little too quickly. She shook her head. "I mean…. I've done…. I can handle it if…."

Angel gently touched her cheek. "I would never be rough with you." He moved his fingers up into her hair and gently gripped the back of her head, staring into her eyes for a long moment before bringing her lips to his. As the kiss intensified, they both forgot the reasons they were doing this. It became a sudden need for the other's touch. Buffy slid a leg over Angel's lap and switched her weight up onto her knees so she straddled him.

* * *

"I hope Buffy's going to be ok." Fred said, looking up the stairs. "She looked really upset."

"I'm sure she'll be ok." Wesley said. "She's the strongest Slayer I've ever known."

"Yeah, but as a human being…. I don't know how she could bear it."

"Buffy's strong. She's been through a lot."

"I just hope Angel doesn't come out of that room in an ashtray." Gunn said. "She seems like she has a temper."

"You have no idea." Cordelia said.

"Where's the shaman?" Connor asked.

"He's upstairs preparing for the spell to extract Angel's soul." Wesley said.

"Shouldn't Angel be there with him?" Fred asked.

"No."

"Ok, shouldn't Angel be in the cage then?"

"Once the spell takes place, Angel won't know what's happened. His soul will leave him and he'll pass out from the pain." Wesley lied. "Wo-Pang assured me that he'll be unconscious long enough for us to get him into the cage."

"I'd feel much safer is he was in the cage." Lorne said.

"Besides, if Angelus comes out and doesn't pass out…. You heard what Buffy said." Gunn said. "She doesn't want our safety in her hands because she'll give it to him."

"Go easy on her, Charles." Lorne said. "She's been through a lot. She'll keep us safe from Angelus."

* * *

Buffy was underneath Angel now as he ran his tongue up her collarbone and neck to suck on her earlobe. She sighed with pleasure and arched up into Angel. He ran his hands up the outside of her thighs and unbuttoned her jeans, pulling them off. Buffy worked on Angel's buttons as he kissed her deeply. She couldn't get the last three, so she just ripped the shirt open and slid it off him, feeling the taught muscles in his upper arms and his muscles ripple in his back as he rose up to lift her up. He slid her shirt over her head and brought his lips to her ribs, licking and sucking and biting his way to her covered breasts.

Buffy moaned and Angel smiled into her skin. He felt her hands gripping at his pants, trying to unbutton them with his weight pressed down on her. Angel lifted up and slid away. Buffy followed and his pants were undone and on the floor in a matter of seconds. Now they both were in their underwear and staring at each other. Buffy was flushed and panting, ready for him and Angel almost groaned when the pain hit him in his groin. He had hardened even further at the sight of her flushed, glowing skin.

Buffy reached out and pulled his boxer briefs down, scratching his thighs with her nails as she pulled them down. He almost collapsed when she gripped him in her hand and tugged slightly. When she ran her nails lightly underneath his hardness, his knees gave way and he fell forward on top of her. Buffy flipped him so she straddled him and took her bra off while he watched. With an impatient jerk, Angel ripped her underwear off of her and flipped them back over so he was poised at her entrance.

* * *

"When will we know?" Connor asked Wesley.

"When Buffy calls for help." Wesley answered.

"Why would she call for help?"

"Because she's up there with him."

"Then I'm going up there too. He'll hurt her."

Wesley grabbed Connor's arm. "No. She'll be fine."

"When he becomes that monster…."

"Buffy will take care of him. Have faith in her Connor."

"I do. It's him I don't trust." Connor yanked away from Wesley and went to drop on the couch.

"Don't worry about it." Lorne said to Wesley. "It'll be over soon."

"It's been over an hour. What if it didn't work?"

"Angel loves that petite little blonde goddess more than anyone realizes. He'll get his moment of perfect happiness. You just need to give them a while. They've been apart for years."

* * *

Buffy cried out for the third time as Angel pressed into her, pushing her limits inside. She shuddered and dug her nails into his skin as he kept going, relishing in the feel of her body. Their eyes locked and Angel felt it. He felt the moment that he had felt the first time. Pure love. Pure happiness. Buffy willingly giving herself to him. Accepting him. Accepting his monster. Then he felt the ripping sensation. His soul was leaving him.

"Buffy!" He couldn't stop though. His body was moving by itself now. The need he felt for her manifested itself and kept his body going without him at the controls. "Oh god! Buffy!" Then he was gone. In his place was Angelus.

Angelus looked down at Buffy's writhing body and smiled, pausing only for one moment to grasp the situation. Then he slammed into her hard, causing her to slam her head on the headboard. She looked up at him, suddenly fearful of him.

"Yeah baby, I'm back." For a moment, he thought she would pull away. But the memories of those nights so long ago must have turned her on even more. She gripped his thighs and urged him on. He obliged, slamming into her harder and harder each time…. Faster and faster. He turned her on her stomach and kept slamming until she cried out into the pillows and reached up to grip the edge of the mattress. Just as Angelus felt his climax slam into him, he felt a painful sensation in his chest and looked down to see Buffy pressing a tazer gun to his flesh.

Buffy held it there until he passed out. Then she gripped the sheets around her and fell from the bed, sobbing. Her insides hurt so bad, but they ached for him still. Her body still remembered him. "Wesley…." She whispered, trying to yell for him. "Wes…." A sob choked her and she almost vomited. "Wesley!" She managed to scream. "Wesley! Wesley! Wesley!"

He finally started banging on the door and Buffy went to unlock it. Thankfully he was the only one there. Wesley pushed into the room and locked the door behind him. "Are you ok?" He asked, holding her shoulders. Buffy shook her head, tears running down her cheeks. Wesley brought her to him and hugged her tightly. "Shh, it's ok. It's over. Get dressed and we'll get him downstairs."

Buffy handed Wesley the tazer. "Here. If he…."

"I've got it. Go change."

Buffy went into the bathroom and quickly dressed. She pulled at her hair with a hairbrush and felt the tears burn her eyes. After a long moment of staring at herself in the mirror, Wesley tapped on the door. Buffy opened it and walked out. She glanced at Angelus and noticed that Wesley had put clothes on him.

"Where's Connor?"

"He went out to patrol the area."

"Good." Buffy walked over to Angel's dresser and pulled a pair of manacles out of the bottom drawer. She and Wesley chained Angelus up and started to drag him to the door. They got to the landing at the top of the lobby and Wesley yelled for Gunn. Gunn ran up and got Angel's legs and the three of them got Angelus downstairs and into the cage. Wesley went upstairs to get Wo-Pang and his jar.

"Damn. Didn't think it would be that easy." Gunn said, watching as Buffy checked the locks on the cage.

"It wasn't." Buffy said quietly.

"Are you ok?"

Buffy started to answer, but Angelus groaned on the floor behind them. She turned to look and saw his eyes flutter open and his vision come to rest on her. He started to laugh sadistically and Buffy grabbed Gunn's arm, hauling him up the stairs.


	25. Chapter 25

Chapter 25

Wesley walked up to the picture in Angel's office and opened it revealing a safe behind it. He twisted the dial on the safe door to the right combination, which Buffy noticed was her birthday. She was standing behind him, holding the receptacle that contained Angel's soul. Fred, Gunn, Cordelia, and Lorne were also in the room.

"Seeing Angel's soul all floaty like that kinda makes me crazy." Fred said.

"Yeah, it's not forever, sugar plum. We're just borrowing it." Lorne said.

Wesley opened the safe door and held his hands out to Buffy. She looked at the white mist for a long moment, feeling Angel's soul warm in her palms and then she handed him the receptacle.

"Don't drop it." Fred said.

Wesley put it in the safe, closed the safe door, then closed the picture over it, concealing the safe. He turned to face everyone. "Angel is gone."

"I can't believe…. it's done." Cordelia said.

"Taking out Angel's soul. Putting it in a jar. I hope we know what we're doing." Gunn said.

"If Angelus knows how to destroy the Beast, it's all we've got." Wesley said.

"Yeah, otherwise, permanent midnight." Lorne interjected.

"He's dangerous." Buffy said.

"I know. I've seen it." Cordelia said. "But we're doing the right thing."

"As long as we're very careful. Before Angelus was ensouled, his viciousness was mythic. You all know his history." Wesley said.

"Killing, maiming, torture…." Fred said.

"Puppies nailed to walls." Lorne said. "Thank you, Cordelia, for that lovely image. But, uh, I think that brings us up to speed."

"There's only one thing Angelus will be focused on: getting free so that he can slaughter us to get to Buffy." Wesley said.

"No. We're Angel's only link to humanity. Angelus will hate us for that. He'll want to make us suffer." Cordelia said.

"He'll want to make me suffer." Buffy said, looking at Cordelia hard. "You're just pawns in his game to turn me."

"She's right." Wesley said. "He doesn't care about us."

"Why would he care about her after all these years?" Cordelia asked acidly.

"Buffy is Angel's link to humanity." Lorne said. "We're just his friends. She's the reason he is who he is. Angelus hates her for it. If killing us hurts her…."

Gunn shook his head. "I'm not a pawn in his game."

"You don't have a choice." Buffy said. "When you all decided this was the best course of action, you put yourselves on his game board. If he wants to give us answers, then he will. If not…."

"Watch the monitor when I go down." Wesley said. "Pay attention to everything he does, everything he says. He'll try to confuse you, to play on your emotions so you drop your guard. If he succeeds…. even for an instant….we're all dead. I spent my life training for this, and I'm still not ready. He's smarter than I am, and a great deal more focused. He'll exploit everything Angel knows about me and go for the jugular. Whatever he's got, I'm not gonna see it coming."

Buffy looked at Wesley. "Do you want me to come down there with you?"

"Let me try on my own. If I don't get the answers we need…."

"I'll give it a whirl." She smiled sadly. "Good luck."

* * *

Buffy and the others watched as Wesley walked downstairs into the basement and stood a few feet away from the cage. Angelus was lurking in the shadows. "Angelus."

"Wes. Why the long face? Aren't you happy to see me?"

"Should I be?"

"Well, if it wasn't for your incessant pushing, I wouldn't be here. I'm feeling the love."

"The choice was Buffy and Angel's."

"Angel, schmangel. You're the man with the brain."

"You're comfortable?"

"Nice acoustics. Wouldn't hate a chair."

"You'll have to forgive the accommodations. The last time you were free, you terrorized Sunnydale."

"That Slayer…. she's a pistol. I bet you loved seeing her in that sheet. She's a hot one. Quite a way to be welcomed back with a view like that." Angelus closed his eyes and licked his lips. "Mmm…. At least tell me I get congiacal visits!"

They all looked at Buffy. "What is he talking about?" Gunn asked.

"Nothing." Buffy said darkly. "It's nothing."

"I've imagined this moment many times." Wesley said. "Years of study, research…. I've read everything ever written about you…."

"Oh, I doubt you've read everything. How about Buff's diary? Have you read that one yet? _That's_ got the juicy details in it."

"To be one-on-one with the legendary Angelus." Wesley sat in a chair a few feet away from the cage. "As a former watcher, it's a high point."

"Buttering me up. Getting me all relaxed, hmm? Not the most innovative interrogation technique, but…. Ok, I'll play."

"Is it a game?"

"Hey, open book. Anything you want to know. How sweet that virgin gypsy tasted. The special smell of a newborn's neck. My first nun…. now that's a great story."

"We could start there."

"Don't be coy, Wes. You're just dying to know about the big Beastie. Fire away."

"All right. Did you know the Beast?"

"Well, now that's a question. Not a great question. Not even an insightful question. Not a Wyndham-Pryce-worthy question…."

"If you knew the Beast, why wouldn't Angel remember?"

"I don't know. Maybe he doesn't remember the good times. Maybe he won't let himself. So like him."

"When were these 'good times'?"

"When weren't they before he came along?" Angelus looked at Wesley. "Come on, Wes. I'm still waiting."

"What do you want?"

"We all want something, Wes. It's the way of the world. Everybody's got an agenda."

"And you want to tell me mine."

"You want to come down here, get your vital stats on lava boy, play the big hero…."

"I want to know how to kill the Beast. It has nothing to do with being a hero."

"Sure it does, but why now? Can't be because there's an apocalypse coming…. always one of those around the corner."

"Enlighten me."

"Foul rag-and-bone shop of the heart. That's where you live."

"Meaning?"

"You want to impress the girl. Move in, get her to love you, and after a couple days of flowers and chocolate covered cherries," Angelus banged his hands on the bars. "You'll bend her over the kitchen counter…."

"That supposed to rattle me?"

"Kinda bony for my taste, but different strokes…."

"The Beast called you an adversary."

Angelus leaned against the bars, fondling them with his hands. "Bet he loves to rub that shiny bald head against her soft, milky skin. Mmmm…. good…. Come on, Wes. Not like your schoolgirl crush is a secret."

"Charles, remember, we can't believe anything Angelus says." Fred said.

"How 'bout the stuff that's true?" Gunn asked. "Can we believe that?"

"He distorts everything." Buffy said. "He lies with the truth. It's part of what makes him so dangerous."

"Yeah, don't let him get to you, kiwi." Lorne said.

"He's not the only one that's gettin'." Gunn said.

"Charles…." Fred said.

"I know. I know."

"It's just words."

"You've found a vulnerability, exploited it. Well done." Wesley said. "Can we move on now?"

"I'm just getting started." Angelus said. "Tell you this…. all that digging you've been doing on the horny giant? Wrong place."

"And the right place?"

"I could tell you. Wouldn't be sporting."

"But you were adversaries…. you and the Beast."

"Guy like me…. friends, enemies…. hard to keep track."

"If he was an enemy, I'd be doing you a favor in destroying him."

"You know, you're not fooling anyone. Get some new clothes, cool haircut, hit the gym…. you're still the same loser none of the other kids wanted to sit with at lunch."

"Yet you're locked in that cage, and I'm out here."

"So? You've got no leverage. What are you going to do? Kill me?"

"If I have to."

"Wait 'til they drop, Wes, then try that line again."

"I'll put your soul back. You won't talk? No problem. We'll bring Angel back and be no worse off than we were."

"Making you a failure again."

"You want to waste my time, you can rot down here."

"Nice stamina, Wes. No wonder Fred's not interested."

"Whatever your connection to the Beast, clearly you don't know anything that can help us."

"Is this the part where I'm supposed to get defensive, start talking to prove you wrong? What else you got?"

"You must hate it that Angel fights evil."

"Eats you up inside, doesn't it. Seeing all those idiots flock around him, calling him a champion. Anyone ever call you a champion?"

"I do my part."

"Right. Like letting Lilah suck Lorne's brain. Or, here's an oldie but a goodie: Faith. Good job being her Watcher. She turned out to be a peach."

"And you managed to get your soul back, not once, but twice, saving the world several times in the process. Nobody's perfect."

"Then there's kidnapping the fruit of my loins. Smooth."

"He survived."

"I guess you just can't understand that special bond between dad and son, given that your own father's ashamed of you."

"And Connor's ashamed of you. The universe's way of maintaining order, I guess."

"Twerp really gives me the creeps. You?"

"In Cordelia's vision, you and the Beast were standing on a field…."

"Oh, God, yeah. Let's talk about Cordy, shall we? Now, there's a rack to write home about. Too bad about the personality, though. Yap, yap, yap, yap, yap! Oh, God. Oh, Angel. Angel, we can't. I love you, but you were so bad. You ate babies." Angelus scoffed. "Chicks. See, that's why I like my Slayer up there. She's embraced the badness. And we both know that's a literal statement."

"Sticks and stones, sweet potato." Lorne said.

Gunn patted Buffy's shoulder. "We don't have to l…."

"No, I'm ok." Buffy said.

"Like you said…. just little bitty bits of truth twisted all up into lies." Fred said.

"Hey, who's a guy gotta kill to get a drink around here?" Angelus said on the monitor.

Connor walked through the front door, beaten and exhausted. Buffy jumped to life suddenly. "Connor, what happened? Are you all right?"

"They're coming from all over. Too many to fight." Connor said.

Wesley entered the lobby. "He wants blood."

"I'll get it." Fred said.

"Me too." Gunn said. Fred and Gun walked out of the lobby.

"Connor, let's get you cleaned up and into some different clothes." Buffy said, moving Connor towards the stairs.

"Are you ok?"

"Never better."

"You're hurt. What happened?"

"How can you….?"

"You're walking differently."

"It's nothing. I'm ok."

"Angelus didn't…."

"No. Let's just get you upstairs."

Connor followed Buffy upstairs into Angel's room and she turned on the shower for him. He watched her for a minute and then looked at the room. The sheets from the bed were next to the bathroom and the top mattress was askew. "Buffy, are you sure…."

"It's ok, Connor. Don't worry about it."

"He hurt you! Did he do something else to you?"

"No. Connor, just take a shower and come back downstairs. I'll wait for you in the lobby. You want something to eat?"

"Ok."

"Peanut butter and jelly ok? Hopefully Angel has that in his kitchen."

"It's fine. Whatever you want." Buffy nodded and turned to go, but Connor grabbed her hand. She turned back to look at him and Connor pulled her into a tight hug. She let herself be held by him and she buried her face in the place where his neck met his shoulder and collarbone. Connor stroked her hair and back.

After a long moment, Buffy pulled away and left the room. When she got downstairs, Fred and Gunn were headed down to the basement. She went into the kitchen and started searching for the peanut butter and jelly and bread. Lorne walked in behind her. "Hey strudel, how are you holding up?"

"Been better." Buffy said quietly, still searching.

"What are you looking for?"

"Peanut butter."

Lorne walked over to a cabinet and pulled out a big jar of peanut butter. "Here ya go."

"Thanks." Buffy sniffled and tried to hold back the tears.

"Listen, it may not be my place considering you don't know me that well, but can I give you some advice?" Buffy nodded. "Let it go. They both had a hand in making you who you are today."

"I feel so…. It feels wrong."

"Is that why you slept with Spike? So you could feel what Angelus made you feel?"

"I can't even describe how he made me feel."

"Alive. When you were with him, you were truly alive."

"But Angel…."

"You're alive with him too. Whether he's Angel or Angelus, you're his soulmate. Nothing changes that, not even death."

"Why does it feel wrong?"

"Because in the world we live in, most people try to make it black and white, good and evil, right and wrong…. But you don't live in that world. You live in the grey area. It's not wrong to love Angelus and to love Angel. That's true love, snickerdoodle."

"True love?"

"It's true love when you love the bad and the good in a person and he feels the same way back. Both of them do. They just express it differently."

There was a burst of commotion out in the lobby and Buffy and Lorne rushed out to see Wesley running towards the basement. Buffy followed and saw thatAngelus had gotten a hold of Fred and had his arm wrapped around her throat, holding her up to the bars of his cage. Gunn was pointing the crossbow at Angelus.

"I like the way you move, Fred. Do it just a little to the left." Angelus said.

"Charles…." Fred cried.

Gunn dropped the crossbow and charged toward them. "Get off her!"

"Come on, Charles, save her! Come on! Save, her Charles!"

Buffy grabbed the tranq gun from Wesley and shot Angelus in the arm. His grip loosened and Fred stepped away from the bars into Gunn's waiting arms. Buffy shot Angelus again, in the chest this time. Angelus looked at the dart, then collapsed backwards.

"Are you ok? Did he hurt you?" Gunn asked.

"No." Fred said. "I'm sorry. That was so stupid, I…. I should've…."

"It's not your fault." Wesley said. "Angelus is unpredictable. He'll take any opening, no matter how small. It's understandable, but you played right into his hands. Never drop your weapon." Wesley turned and walked back up the stairs.

"Thanks." Fred said.

"So you're ok?" Buffy asked.

"Yeah." Fred hugged Gunn tightly.

"Come, let's go back upstairs. He's gonna be pissed when he wakes up." Buffy followed Gunn and Fred up the stairs. When they got into the lobby, Connor was coming back down the stairs putting on his wrist stake-launchers. "Connor, you're not going back out."

"Somebody has to." He said.

"Connor, you're exhausted. You said yourself there were too many…."

"I want to get out of here, ok?" Buffy walked up to him. "Everybody still looks at me like I'm the one who's connected to the Beast."

"No they don't. That weirdness earlier was about something else."

"What?"

"Connor, don't go back out there."

"What was the something else?"

"Oh, you're as stubborn as your father." Buffy snapped as Gunn walked across the lobby into the office.

"Don't change the subject. Was it about what happened upstairs?"

"Yes."

"He did hurt you."

"No." Buffy sighed. "Connor, everything is fine."

"You better tell me what the hell I just walked in on." Gunn yelled in the office.

"We were just…." Fred said.

"What? Researching?"

"You want to do this, deal with me. Leave Fred out of it." Wesley said.

"You ought to be leaving Fred out of it!"

"Hello, I'm here." Fred said.

"You think I don't see the way you look at her?" Gunn yelled at Wesley.

"Charles, please."

"And you, running off to him every time you need help, like I'm not good enough."

"No, that's not…. This isn't the time."

"I'm telling you, stay away from her."

"I owe you nothing. Not anymore." Wesley said.

"You just take what you want, huh…."

Fred pushed Gunn out into the lobby. "Come on."

"No matter who it belongs to."

"I didn't realize Fred came with a deed." Wesley said.

"Stop it! What's wrong with you?" Fred yelled.

"You don't realize a lot of things, like the fact that nobody wants you here."

"Cause you do such a bang-up job without me." Wesley said back as Lorne and Cordelia came into the lobby.

"Hey, hey, come on, guys. Let's not say anything that…." Lorne started.

"Shut up, Lorne!" Gunn yelled. "Great idea, Wes, stealing Angel's kid. Oh, was losing him a part of your plan, too?"

"Go ahead. Throw some more blame around. It's what you're best at." Wesley retorted.

"You want to say that again?"

"Face it, Gunn, you can't give her what she needs."

Gunn punched Wesley in the face. He stumbled back, but stayed standing. "Charles!" Fred yelled. Wesley punched Gunn twice in the torso. "Stop it!" Gunn grabbed Wesley and pushed him against the front desk. "This is insane! You're doing exactly what Angelus wants." Gunn ignored her as he and Wes continued to fight.

"Oh, for the love of Mike Tyson!" Lorne said, looking at Buffy.

Buffy sighed and headed over to the two men. Fred tried to intervene, but Gunn accidentally hit her in the face with his elbow as he reared back for another punch at Wesley. Fred screamed and fell to the floor, covering her busted lip.

Buffy wedged in between Gunn and Wesley and sent them both flying to opposite sides of the lobby. Gunn looked at Fred and realized what he'd done. "Fred…." Buffy and Cordelia went to Fred's aid and looked up at Gunn. Cordelia noticed the monitor on the desk behind Gunn. Connor was in the basement talking to Angelus. She glanced at Buffy to make sure the Slayer hadn't noticed.


	26. Chapter 26

Chapter 26

Connor walked up to the cage where Angelus was sitting on the floor in a dark corner. "Everyone's afraid of you." He said.

"Is that my shirt?" Angelus asked.

"Not anymore."

"Looks good on you, son."

"So does Buffy."

Angelus laughed. "You haven't had her on you."

"Angel warned me about you. Said I should remember you're not my real father."

"Yeah, that was a nice speech. Touching. I think it ended with you promising to kill me."

"I remember."

"Kind of unnecessary, don't you think? I mean, with your track-record, I'll be staking myself by the end of the day."

"It's fine by me."

"Darla felt the same way. It made her sick, you squirming inside her. So, she jammed a stake in her own heart, just so she wouldn't have to hear your first whiny breath."

"You don't know anything."

"Then there was Holtz. It disappointed him so much that he stabbed himself in the neck."

"My fa…. Holtz was a good man. All he ever wanted was for you to get the punishment you deserve."

"And now my boy's in love. All hearts and flowers." Angelus stood up and shook his head. "But, doesn't it freak you out that she changed your diapers? I mean, when you think about it, the woman you want to bone is the closest thing you've ever had to a mother. Doing your mom and trying to kill your dad. Hmm…. There should be a play."

"You think I care what you say? Buffy and Angel told me how you'd try to hurt me, how you aren't my real dad, just some animal in a cage. Angel's my dad."

"I'm gonna cry."

"That's what he told me. And he thought I believed him. The truth is, Angel's just something that you're forced to wear. You're my real father."

"I'm right here. All you have to do is come and get me."

"You'd like that."

"You couldn't take me anyway."

"We'll see."

"Promises, promises. Don't make 'em, if you can't keep 'em."

"I wouldn't think of it."

"It might be your best chance. Don't disappoint daddy."

Cordelia came down the stairs. "Connor. Go upstairs."

"No."

"Buffy wants you."

Connor glared at Angelus for a minute, then walked away. "It's your lucky day."

"Yeah. Go to your room, mama's boy." Angelus called as Connor went upstairs. "Cordy. Cordy, Cordy. Just couldn't stay away."

"It's been a long day, and I think you've done enough damage."

"So, no hug?"

"You and I are gonna make a deal."

"Tough. Did you practice that in front of the mirror a few times? Lemme guess. You want to know about the Beast."

"Everything you know."

"Oh. And in return, I get what? Wouldn't mind a car. I hear the new Mustang is nice."

"Something better."

"What's a better ride than a Mustang?"

"Me."

Angelus laughed. "You?"

"That's the offer. No more stalling, no more games. You tell us what you know, you get me."

"Must be some confusion. You took out the soul. Still have the brain."

"Then use it. The Beast, the darkness…. the world is falling apart. We're out of time, we're out of ideas. You're the end of the line."

"Ok, where did you miss the sign that says 'I don't care'?"

"I know you don't. But you know what it means to be a champion."

"I'm trying so hard to forget."

"Sometimes a sacrifice needs to be made."

"And you think you're the little lamb. Not that there aren't a few things I wouldn't mind doing to that body…. other than the obvious."

"Tell us about the Beast, and you can do whatever you want."

"You're lying."

"Look in my eyes. Angel knows me. You know me. Better than anyone. So, when you look at me, you know I'm not lying."

Angelus looked at her for a minute, then started laughing. "You'll never beat her."

"Who?"

"You know who. You've been doing your damndest since your high school days to put her down and make her less than you, but it hasn't worked has it? Everyone turns you down for her."

Cordelia seethed. "Oh. Her."

Angelus laughed even harder. "Oh Cordelia! As long as she's alive, you don't stand a chance. The only time you got to Angel was when he thought she was dead. And even then the only way you got to him was to bring up her name!" He could see the tears of anger and frustration welling in her eyes. "You'll never be her and you'll never defeat her and I know it's eating you up inside." She turned and stormed up the stairs. "By the way, that was me turning down your offer!"

* * *

Buffy walked through the deserted lobby. Connor had gone out again against her advice and pleading. Cordelia had locked herself up in her room. Lorne was tending to Fred. Gunn was hiding somewhere in the hotel. Wesley had drawn the shades in the office and locked the door. So, Buffy was all alone in the lobby. She looked at the monitor and saw Angelus sitting in the shadows.

He looked directly at the camera. "Come on, baby. I'm waiting for you." Buffy thought about turning and walking back up the stairs, but she decided to oblige her long-ago lover. Walking down the stairs, she unplugged the camera and looked at Angelus. "Miss me?"

"Only in the sense of not really." Buffy said.

"You knew it was me up there?"

"I did."

"You missed me." Angelus stretched and stood up, walking to the bars. "He wasn't good enough for you, was he?"

"Who?"

"Spike."

Buffy lifted her head in a slow nod. "Ah, him. Jealous, lover?"

"Not hardly. Wanna know why?"

"I'm mildly intrigued."

"Because I know that you know he wasn't nearly a third as good as me. He's always tried to be me, but he never succeeds, does he? Even went and got himself a soul." Angelus chuckled. "They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, but I just find it annoying." Buffy walked up to the bars and put her hands on them. Angelus covered one of them with one of his own and reached out with his other to stroke her hair. "I want you."

"Tell me about the Beast."

"I want you now."

"Tell me about the Beast and you can have me."

Angelus let her go and walked away from her. "Cordelia offered me the same thing."

"Cordelia…."

He chuckled. "Jealous, lover?"

"Not hardly. Wanna know why?"

"I'm slightly intrigued."

"Because she's not me."  
Angelus smiled. "Nobody knows me like you do, Buff."

"Nobody ever will."

"I'm going to have to learn your body again. It's changed since the last time." He touched her hips. "You're walking differently. Is it because of me?"

"You bruised me."

"Did he get to know your body?"

"I never gave him the chance."

"He didn't know to look." Angelus shook his head. "Willie never cared to learn the ways of the body. Drusilla always came running back to me. He's always been about his pleasure."

"You're stalling."

He laughed. "I knew I let you get used to my ways. Should've listened to my instincts and mixed it up a little." Buffy smiled and watched him. "Do you have keys to this thing?" He gestured to the lock on the door.

"I do."

"I'll tell you everything you want to know if you'll come in here and sit with me." She eyed him wearily. "I won't take the key from you. I know you'll break my hand if I try and I need both of them for the things I want to do to you."

"Fine." Buffy walked back upstairs and slid the keys in her pocket without anyone noticing and slipped back downstairs, locking the door behind her. She undid the locks on the cage and walked inside. Angelus pulled her to him and kissed her violently, biting her lower lip a couple of times. She started to pant with desire and he sunk to the floor. He spread his legs and sat her down between them with her back to his chest.

"Ask away." Angelus said, unbuttoning her pants and sliding his hand down into her.

"Start from the beginning."

"Why not? 1789. Prussia. Hmm…. those Prussian girls. Must be the pastries. Worth the trip…. all that sweetness gets into their blood." He stroked Buffy as he talked, causing her to moan and move her hips into him.

"The Beast?

"I was taking a shortcut on my way to Vienna. Started feeling like someone was watching me. There were troops around. I'd run into them now and then. Not as sweet as the girls, by the way." She moved forward, trying to get away from him, but he yanked her back harshly, rubbing harder. "Don't be jealous, lover." He licked his fingers. "You're much sweeter than they are. The little massacre I ran into…. seriously lacking in military precision. Bodies, bodies everywhere, and not a drop to drink. So, I followed the trail, and there was your friend. The one you so cleverly call the Beast. We had a lot in common, but he already knew that. He'd been watching me. He staged the carnage to impress me."

"So, he was…. looking for… for you…. Why?"

Angelus chuckled at Buffy's struggle to put together a coherent thought through his fondling. "Girl trouble. Thought I might be able to help him with a situation."

"How?"

"You've heard of the Svea Priestesses? Very powerful, big into banishing. The Beast was next on their list. He couldn't touch them…. some kind of mojo…. but a vampire could. We had it all worked out. I'd scratch his priestesses, and he'd scratch my back somewhere down the line. A limited partnership."

"And?"

"I declined. And he didn't ask twice. I probably could have been more diplomatic with my refusal, but I'm not big with teamwork. I thought that was going to be the end of me. But, like I said: girl trouble. They just started up the whammy, and there you have it."

"The Beast…. was banished. How?"

"Don't know. I was busy with the passing out." He chuckled. "A lot like you're about to do." Buffy bit her lip to keep from crying out when he bent his wrist and shoved two fingers inside her. "Better, lover?" She nodded and arched her back as the first waves of her climax hit her. He stroked her down from it and then kissed her neck, buttoning up her pants. When she turned to look at him, he was licking his fingers clean. "Better than anything I've ever tasted." Buffy shook her head, disgusted. "And that still amazes me that I can make you blush after everything else I've done with you."

Buffy stood up. "I have decency."

"No you don't. If you did, I wouldn't be here."

"What do you mean?"

"Oh please, you and Angel were ready to explode. You used that opportunity to screw him three ways from Sunday and then have your way with me."

"I'm leaving."

"Yeah. You'll be back. I'll see you soon."

Buffy locked the cage back up and walked up the stairs, plugging the camera back in on her way up. She knocked on the office door and Wesley opened it. "He talked."

"What?" Wesley opened it further and stepped into the lobby.

"Get everyone down here to start looking up the Svea Priestesses."

"Why?"

"They banished the Beast and I want them to do it again."

* * *

Ten minutes later, Wes, Lorne, Fred, Gunn, Cordelia, and Connor were all sitting around the room researching. Connor was seated behind the desk with Buffy and Lorne was in front of it. Wes was leaning on one side of the desk and Fred and Gunn were on the opposite end of the desk.

"I don't understand." Fred said.

"Why is Sid Vicious suddenly Mr. Show-and-Tell?" Gunn asked. "What did you do?"

"Nothing. I just asked him." Buffy said.

"Why don't you want to tell us what you did?" Connor asked.

"I did what I had to."

"Which means what?" Gunn asked.

"Buffy…." Fred started.

Wesley interrupted her. "Connor's right. We're all painfully aware of Angelus's ability to manipulate…."

"I wasn't manipulated." Buffy said.

"It would be better if I knew."

"It's better if you don't." Lorne caught Buffy's eyes and he smiled assuringly. She smiled back and went back to reading.

Cordelia groaned from her place on the settee. "Slarf demons, spell mantras, Srail'gong technique, but nothing on…."

"The Svea priestesses." Fred chimed in. "Also known as the Svear, a mystical order all descendents of a powerful Nordic priestess, Svea."

"They've been busy." Gunn said, reading over her shoulder.

"Anything about the Beast?" Connor asked.

"Nothing definitive, but this one looks like it could match up." Fred handed the book to Wesley and Gunn walked away.

"Same region, approximately the same time period." Wesley said.

"I'm shaky on Freyan runes, but kinda seems like it's only a general I.D. of who or what got banished."

"Translation, something like, uh, big…. hard thing."

"Sounds like our guy." Cordelia said.

"Fantastico!" Lorne piped up. "So where do we find these banishing babes, and, uh, how fast can they get to L.A.?"

Gunn threw an open phone book on the desk. "Bout 25 minutes, depending on traffic. They're in Pacoima."

"Now, the question is: Who gets to pay a visit to our local priestesses?" Cordelia asked.

"Connor and I will." Buffy said, shutting her book. "I need to get out of here."

"I'll come with."

"We've got it." Buffy grabbed her coat and headed out the door with Connor right behind her.


	27. Chapter 27

Chapter 27

Buffy and Connor walked up to the house that the phone book had listed and read the small sign near the door.

SVEAR

MON – FRI

10AM -PM

Buffy rang the doorbell, but no one answered. "Looks like no one's home." Connor said.

Buffy shrugged and banged loudly on the door.It swung open and Buffy walked into the house. "Hello? Anyone home? Nordic priestesses?"

Connor looked at pictures in the foyer. "So, the mom's a priestess?"

"I think all the women in the family are." Buffy smelled something copper on the air. "What is that?" Buffy walked into the kitchen and discovered several bloody, dead bodies on the floor. "We're too late. Again."

"How does the Beast know exactly what we're gonna do? It's like he's psychic."

"Maybe he is."

"Or he's been watching us at the hotel. Angelus could have sent him a message, some kind of demon Morse code."

"No, these people have been dead for a few days. Angelus had nothing to do with this. Which means, by the time the Angel was loosing his soul, it was already too late."

Connor noticed the bloody children, with their bloody toys. "You mean, they've been here like this…. for days?"

"With the chaos outside, probably no one even noticed they were gone." Buffy shook her head. "We should have seen this coming. Of course the Beast would've gone after the priestesses." She sighed. "Let's look around and then call the police." Connor found a paper on the desk and handed it to Buffy. She read over it and shrugged. "It's in a different language. Maybe a banishment incantation."

"Then they were trying to get rid of the Beast."

Buffy shrugged and moved on. Connor saw a calendar on the refrigerator door and moved over to it to get a closer look. One of the days was marked _Daddy's Birthday_ and circled with a red heart. Connor couldn't take anymore and ran out of the house.

"Connor!" Buffy ran after him. He sat on the concrete stairs in front of the house and vomited in the front yard. "Connor…." She looked up. "The sun should be up. It's different, isn't it? Dead demons are just a big blob of oozing mess. Vampires turn into dust like they were never anything at all. But humans…. it's different."

"It's not…."

"What?"

"Family."

Buffy started to say something, but a vampire jumped out of the bushes behind them. Connor punched him, but another vampire came out and attacked Buffy, pushing her to the ground. Connor grabbed a stake from his side and dusted one vampire. He tossed his stake to Buffy and she threw the vamp across the street into some garbage cans.

"Go!" Buffy yelled. She and Connor took off down the road and hopped in Angel's convertible. A vampire dove and held on to the back of the car, trying to climb in. As Buffy drove, Connor stood up and kicked the vamp in the face, knocking him back onto the street. He saw a group of vampires were headed down the street toward them.

"Let's go!" Connor sat back down and Buffy put on the gas.

* * *

Lorne, Fred and Gunn were sitting in the lobby, watching Angelus on the monitor. He was sitting in the shadows singing to himself.

"He's so relaxed." Fred said.

"It's like, he's not even in a cage." Gunn said.

"In his mind, he's not." Lorne stood and went to turn off the monitor.

"You get anything off him?"

"Let me put it this way, moon pie, you don't want to know."

"I don't. I definitely don't." Fred said.

Buffy and Connor came through the front door and Gunn, Fred, and Lorne turned to them anxiously. "What happened?" Gunn asked.

"Vamps." Connor said.

"You didn't get the Svear." Fred said.

"No, the Beast did. Slaughtered the entire family." Buffy said.

"Guess he found a way to kill them after all."

"So much for our big priestess rescue." Gunn said.

"Are we sure Angelus doesn't know anything more? I mean, maybe we should talk to…"

"No. He's told us everything he's going to." Buffy said.

"Which means our last-ditch plan, turning Angel into a soulless monster, it's a bust." Gunn said. "If Angelus can't help us…."

"It's time to bring back Angel." Connor frowned and walked out of the lobby.

"Oh, and he's usually so chatty." Lorne said.

Buffy looked at Connor then back at Lorne. "Rough night."

"We'll need the shaman." Wesley said, standing in the doorway of the office.

As everyone went about their business, Lorne walked up to Buffy. "How're you holding up, buttercup?"

"I'll be better once all this is over with and I can go home. I miss my sister and my friends." She glanced up at where Connor had disappeared. "And he needs to get away from LA. The bad memories are starting to get to him." She smiled at Lorne and headed to the basement door. Angelus was sitting in the dark corner again.

"Here I thought you'd be halfway to Georgia by now after the way you ran out of here." He said.

"You knew I'd be back."

"How'd the little field trip turn out? Priestesses still feisty?"

"We found a little boy, his sister, mom, dad, grandma…. all dead."

"Oh, God. I'm always missing the fun stuff."

"The Beast butchered them."

"So? Did you bring me back a souvenir? Maybe a stray baby toe? Come on, Buff. Where's your sense of humor?" Buffy shrugged. "Well, don't blame me for our little debacle. I told you everything I know."

"Too late."

"And who's fault is that? Doesn't matter. I showed you mine. Now it's time to show me yours."

"The deal was: you give us information, we save the world, you get me. Well, world not saved."

"You're not thinking I'm just gonna let this go."

"Not seeing a whole lot of other options. With the big steel cage and all."

"Won't be in here forever."

"About another hour. We're putting your soul back."

"Not gonna happen."

"Just in time for the primo apocalypse that's coming. Too bad. I know how you love those."

"Been looking forward to it all day. Still am." He looked Buffy up and down. "I think I'll start with the twins this time. I just love a woman with nice ripe thighs." He suddenly reached out to grab Buffy, but missed her by less than an inch.

"Not even close."

"The more you piss me off, the longer I'll keep you alive."

"Goodbye Angelus."

"I don't know why you pretend. You want me more than him. You crave a demon between your legs, not a man!"

Buffy ignored him and walked up the stairs. She headed in the office where Lorne, Cordelia, Fred, and Gunn were staring at the safe. "Ok, let's…." She stopped when she saw the looks of shock on everyone's faces. "What?"

"Angel's soul. It's gone."

Buffy looked over at the safe. "Where is it?"

"We don't know." Gunn said. "Wesley opened the safe and it was just gone."

"Who took it?"

"Buffy, calm down. We'll find it." Wesley said.

"Find it! It's Angel's soul! You don't just loose it and then find it again!"

"Chill." Gunn said. "We'll go to the shaman and get him to track it down."

Connor walked in the office. "What's going on?"

"Angel's soul is missing." Fred said.

"What? How?"

"We don't know."

Connor moved to Buffy's side. "Who took it?"

"We don't know that either."

"Connor, you and Cordelia come with me to see the shaman." Wesley said. "Gunn, you, Fred, and Buffy stay here and guard Angelus."

"You don't think he took it?" Fred asked.

"No. He's been in that cage the entire time. If someone let him out, he wouldn't be there now."

Connor wrapped one arm around Buffy's waist and the other around her shoulders and pulled her to him. "It'll be ok, Buffy. I won't let anything happen to you."

Buffy placed her palms on Connor's chest and let him hug her tighter. "Thank you, Connor. I know you won't."

* * *

Gunn and Fred watched Angelus over the monitor set up in the lobby while Buffy sat on the stairs with her head leaned against a pillar staring off into space. Gunn poured gasoline into a tank. "Awfully quiet up there." Angelus said. "I've had time to think, and I've realized something important. Being evil is wrong. I want to be good. I want to be Angel again. You hear me? I'm ready!"

Gunn tested the flamethrower he'd just refueled. "I'm ready too, fang boy."

Fred looked at Buffy. "He knows, doesn't he? That his soul's missing."

"He knew before we did." Buffy said, still staring into space.

"I hope that shaman can help us."

"That shaman should never have been brought here. Now, instead of just worrying about the big bad Rocky, we got Darth Vampire living in the basement." Gunn said.

"Bringing out Angelus was our best chance."

"That you talking, or Wes?"

"You were pushing for it too, Charles."

"Then maybe I did the wrong thing."

"Like smacking your girl around?" Angelus said. "I betcha Wes would never hit her. He's all proper and English. And that accent…. Oh, chicks just love a good accent. Makes 'em all buttery in their nether regions. Isn't that right, Fred? You know, I had a bit of an Irish brogue back in the day. If you'd like, I could use it on you when I rape you to death…."

Gunn turned the sound off on the monitor. "Son of a bitch."

"He's just…. It's just words." Fred said.

"Yeah."

"And that's the only way he can hurt us. He knows he's never getting out."

"He'll get out." Buffy said, her eyes still glazed over and her gaze unseeing. "The longer his soul is missing…. He'll figure a way out."

Fred walked over to Buffy and sat next to her, petting her shoulder and hair. "It's ok Buffy. He won't get out. He can't hurt you."

"He doesn't need to get out to hurt me."

"Charles, I think she's broken."

Gunn walked over and squatted in front of Buffy. "Hey, cheer up Buff. We'll find his soul, put it back, and you and Angel can ride off into the sunset."

"There won't be any riding into any sunset."

"Well, you know what I…."

"From beneath you it devours." Buffy sighed, thinking about Sunnydale and its impending doom.

"What?"

"Nothing." Buffy stood up and walked into the office. She sat down in Angel's chair and curled up. She hated herself for loving Angelus. He was a monster of the highest order, but she was drawn to him. She didn't know if it made it better or worse that he was drawn to her. He had come to her that first night. She had been patrolling and there he had been, waiting for her.

"_Well, well, well... What do we have here?" Buffy spun around to see Angelus standing behind her. He tsk-ed at her. "You shouldn't drop your guard. You never know what'll come out to play." Buffy backed up a step, not loving how close he was to her. "Scared, lover?"_

"_No." Buffy said, trying to hide the shaking stake she held in her trembling hand._

"_I would be…. Well, if I were you, I would be." He took a step closer, causing her to take a step back instinctively. Buffy glared defiantly at him. "I'm going to love taking that spark out of your eyes."_

"_What spark?"_

_He took another step towards her and she took another step back. "The one that makes you fight back. I like my girls to lie still."_

"_I'm not the lay down and take it kind of girl."_

"_You will be." He took another step forward and she took another step back, her back hitting the wall of a mausoleum this time. Her instincts kicked in and she punched him, hard. She went to punch him with her other arm, but Angelus caught it, spinning her around and pinning her against his chest. She kicked out at the wall and forced him backwards. He lost his balance and fell to the ground. Buffy rolled over him and flipped to her feet. Angelus kick-flipped to his feet and spun around to face her._

_Instead of her attacking him, he sprung first, catching her off guard. Before she could get her bearings, he punched and kicked her, causing her to lose ground again. She managed to get in a double-fisted punch that knocked him away from her. Buffy shook her head, trying to make the world stop spinning, and dove at Angelus. He fell backwards with her momentum and threw her over him, kicking her into the mausoleum wall. She landed with a thud on the ground, her head still spinning._

_Angelus hauled her to her feet and punched her again. Blood trickled from the corner of her mouth where her lip had split. Angelus watched the little rivulet of blood make its way slowly down her chin. Buffy stared up at him, breathing heavily. After a long moment, Angelus leaned down and licked the blood slowly up her chin to her mouth. Without thinking, he slipped his tongue in her mouth and kissed her passionately._

_Buffy was startled by this sudden change and tried to pull away. Angelus punched her again and shoved her back into the wall. He followed her and pinned her to the wall, kissing her fiercely. Buffy couldn't help herself. It was so much like her nights with Angel that her body couldn't tell the difference even as her head screamed that this was Angelus and not Angel._

_He slid a cool hand up her shirt and ripped her bra off. Buffy gasped as he caressed her skin, working his way back up towards her breasts. The stake dropped from Buffy's hand and she lifted her head for air, panting with desire. Angelus took that opportunity to kiss his way up and down her neck and nip at her collarbone. Buffy felt his hardness pressing through his pants on her thigh and she couldn't stop herself from reaching down a hand and scratching at his thigh and caressing his hardness._

_Angelus groaned and his hips thrust forward, pinning her hips to the wall. Buffy sighed as he stroked her with his hardness. He grabbed her wrist and hauled her away from the wall. Yanking open the door and breaking the lock, Angelus pulled her inside the mausoleum. He threw her onto the stone sarcophagus and pulled her to the edge, causing her to scrape up her shoulder on the rough stone. She sat up and pulled his lips to hers, dueling his tongue for dominance in their mouths._

_Angelus groaned and reached down his hand, pushing her underwear aside and slipping two fingers inside of her. She groaned and pushed her hips towards his hand. He couldn't take the pain in his groin any longer, so he reached down and undid his pants, freeing himself. They both cried out as he shoved into her. Angelus pushed inside her as deeply as possible and pulled out slowly. He kept the slow pace going until both of them couldn't take it anymore and his pace quickened. Buffy was the first to cry out and she sat up, gripping onto Angelus as she rode him. The sudden tightening and shifting of her muscles around him caused Angelus to climax violently. He shoved her back and pushed into her so hard, he knew she would be bruised in the morning._

_Buffy lay on the cold stone of the sarcophagus breathing heavily. Angelus, also panting, bent forward and laid his head on her toned stomach. He breathed in her scent and she sighed. Suddenly, as if she had burned him, he shoved away from her, pulling his pants up. Angelus glared at her as she sat up, moving her clothes to cover herself._

"_What did you do to me!?" Angelus growled._

"_I-I didn't…." Buffy stammered._

"_This is insanity! I hate you!"_

"_I hate you right back!"_

"_It won't happen again." Angelus kicked the door off its hinges and disappeared into the night._

_It did happen again…. And again, and again, and again. They thought they could avoid it. They thought it was a sick obsession on one or both of their parts. But whatever it was, they couldn't stop. They were addicted. At first, it was always that way. It would start out as a fight and end up in a crypt or sometimes, if one wasn't handy, right there on the grass of some poor dead person's grave. And then later on, Angelus would come to her bedroom and they would do things that Buffy couldn't even spell while her mother slept in the room down the hall. Her friends all thought she had been exhausted from patrolling so much, but in fact, Buffy rarely patrolled for vampires in those few months. She went to the graveyards and alleyways of Sunnydale and waited for him, all the while hating him and wishing she could just kill him and get it over with._

Buffy shook her head and tried to quiet her thoughts.

Outside the office in the lobby, Gunn and Fred were talking quietly. **"**What Angelus said about me…." Gunn said. "I didn't mean to hurt you. I would never do that."

"I know. I just can't help but think if you didn't attack…."

"Attack? That's how you see it? I attacked him! What do you call what he was doing in the office before I walked in?"

"I don't know what…."

"He was kissing you! Don't lie to me. It's the one thing you're not good at."

"It just happened."

"Because you let it. I've never felt so much for anyone. I would do anything for you, but it's not enough, is it?"

"Charles, I'm…."

"I can't do this anymore, Fred. I'm tired of you looking everywhere but at me." Buffy heard the doors open and looked out to see Wesley walk through the front door followed by Connor and Cordelia. Fred must've looked because Gunn said, "Like that."

Wesley walked up to Fred. "What is it?"

"I just can't make heads or tails out of this banishing text. You guys have any luck?"

"Yeah, but it was all bad." Connor said. "Where's Buffy?"

"Here." Buffy had stood up and opened the door to the office.

Connor walked over to her. "The shaman didn't have the soul. Doesn't know who took it. Doesn't know how to find it."

"Other than that, everything's peachy." Cordelia said. "Any word from Lorne and his contacts?"

"Damn it!" Gunn grabbed a gun and ran downstairs. Wesley lookd back at where Gunn was and saw the monitor showing someone talking to Angelus. Wesley ran to join Gunn and Cordelia, Connor, and Fred followed them. Buffy didn't bother to run. She just walked calmly towards the basement door. When she got downstairs, Angelus was passed out with a dart in his arm and Wesley was gone.

Gunn looked at Connor. "Check the locks." Connor pulled on the cage door, but it was still locked. He noticed the crowbar Lilah left behind and kicked it away from the cage. "What kind of brain fart made that witch try and let Angelus out?"

"I want to know how she even knew he was here." Cordelia said.

"Maybe she took Angel's soul." Connor said.

"She's a muckety-muck at Wolfram and Hart. It's her job to know." Gunn said.

"I thought the Beast killed everyone at Wolfram and Hart." Fred said.

"Maybe she cut some kind of deal with it."

"You really think she has a connection to the Beast?" Connor asked.

Gunn shrugged. "Lilah or not, something is doing the Beast's dirty work."

"It would explain how giant lava boy could tiptoe past us to take out Manny." Cordy said.

"And butcher that family, those priestesses." Connor said with a glance up at Buffy.

"Even though Lilah's evil, I don't see her hacking up all those people." Fred said.

"Ok, maybe it's not just her." Gunn said. "Maybe…. maybe the big bad Beast had minions doing his dirty work."

"Morons." Angelus said from the cage. "The big rock doesn't have minions. It is the minion."

"No, it's not. We've seen what it can do." Fred said.

"You've just seen the warm-up act."

"What are you saying?" Cordelia asked.

"I'm saying there's something bigger. Something worse." Angelus smiled at their shocked faces. "The Beast has a boss."

Gunn watched Angelus carefully. "Worse than the Beast?"

"That's…. that's not possible." Cordelia said.

"How did you survive this long being so retarded?" Angelus asked.

"Cut the fu-manchu. What do you know?" Gunn asked.

"Quite a bit, bright boy. Maybe I'll fill in the blanks sometime."

"How do you know there's something worse than the Beast?" Connor asked.

"Cause I have a brain, son. The Beast I knew was big into smash and slaughter. Had the brawn to be really good at it too, but the big picture? Not his strong point. But whoa! Flash forward. Now he's all rain of fire, destroying the Ra-Tet, blotting out the sun. Big moves for a guy whose head is made out of rock."

"Maybe he got smarter." Cordelia said.

"And maybe I'll sprout some wings and flutter away. There's something else out there…. more powerful, more vicious…. pulling all the strings. Ooh, don't know about you, but I'm just dying to find out what it is."


	28. Chapter 28

Chapter 28

Wesley and Lilah came in through the front doors to find Fred, Connor, and Cordelia watching the monitor. Buffy sat on the stairs again with her resting on the pillar.

"What, no cake?" Lilah asked.

"Where is it?" Fred asked.

"Where is what?"

"Angel's soul." Cordelia said.

"Oh, that what."

"She didn't take it." Wesley said.

"How do you know?" Connor asked.

"Because she told me."

"And you believe her? Lying's her job." Gunn said.

"He's got a point." Lilah opened her coat and turned around, inadvertently revealing her wound to the others. "You wanna search me?"

"What happened?" Cordelia asked.

"She was injured in the attack on Wolfram and Hart." Wesley said.

"The place was a slaughterhouse. How'd she make it out?" Gunn asked.

"Got lucky." Lilah said.

"Ah, maybe it was more than that." Cordelia walked up to Lilah. "What were you doing downstairs with Angelus?"

"She was gathering intel." Wesley said.

"With a crowbar?" Gunn asked. "She's the only one to make it out of Wolfram and Hart alive, then she shows up right after Angel's soul goes missing."

"I've already told you, she didn't have anything to do with that."

"Maybe she knows who did." Connor said.

"Or who's controlling the Beast." Fred said.

"Controlling?" Lilah asked.

"Angelus thinks rock-boy's just the muscle." Gunn said. "Not that I trust him any more than you."

"Everything that's happened…." Cordelia sighed. "It's part of a bigger plan with something even worse than the Beast sketching the blueprints."

"That's what he's been trying to hide." Wesley said. "There might be something in the text we…."

"Text?"

Wesley held up a book. "Lilah found a passage in Rhinehardt's Compendium."

"But we searched that already." Fred said. "There's nothing in there."

"Because all references to the Beast have been erased in this dimension."

"I got my copy of Rhinehardt's…. way out of town." Lilah said. "I'm surprised you didn't think of that."

"That's why Angel didn't remember the Beast." Gunn said.

"His memory's been wiped clean, just like the book's." Wesley said.

"Why does Angelus remember?" Connor asked.

"Because his mind wasn't here when the spell or whatever was cast, right?" Fred asked.

"We should compare this passage with the information Wolfram and Hart extracted from Lorne." Wesley said. "There might be…."

"Yeah, have fun with that." Gunn grabbed the flamethrower.

"Charles…."

"Somebody needs to be downstairs, make sure nobody else tries to intel our boy." Gunn left the lobby and went downstairs.

"Let him go." Cordelia said to Fred when she tried to follow. "I know this is hard. I know we're all tired and hurting, but we have to stay focused. We need to figure out what's coming, and how to get Angel back before it does, because if this is as bad as I think it is, we'll need him more than ever."

Lilah looked at Buffy. "Ah, the infamous Slayer."

"Do I know you?" Buffy asked, glancing at the lawyer.

"Not personally, but I know you quite well. You've got a file of your own at Wolfram and Hart…. And a pretty large chunk of Angel's as well."

"Goody for me. Let me run out and publish it right now!"

"So, I'm just dying to know…. Was it really the shaman that released Angel's soul, or was it you?"

Buffy stood up and left Lilah sitting on the stairs. She decided to go downstairs and tell Gunn to go on. When she got down there, she heard Angelus saying, "At least you've got the love of a good woman…. Till she dumps you for a guy with a bigger horizon."

"It's her life." Gunn said.

"Oh, wait…. did I miss it? Did she already let you down easy? Cheer up, buddy. Not like we didn't see it coming. Especially after what happened to her old professor. Come on, even Angel's not that stupid. The way things changed between you two…. the furtive looks, all that guilt. Mmm…. There's nothing like your first murder. Don't worry, I won't tell what our little girl did."

"She didn't…."

"Yeah! So, it was you! Stepping up and being the man!"

"I did what I had to do."

"I guess Fred didn't quite see it that way, huh? Wow. You do a chick a favor, you think she'd be grateful, but no. Mm-mm. She still goes for the broody smart guy, all mysterious and tortured. I guess, when you think about it, for the first time in your life, you just weren't dark enough." Gunn fired the flamethrower at Angelus, sending him back. Angelus chuckled. "Maybe there's hope for you after all, Chuck." He looked up at Buffy standing on the stairs. "Now, get out."

"What?"

"My Slayer's here and I want alone time with her."

Gunn shook his head. "I'm not leaving her alone with you. You've done enough to her already."

"Oh, I haven't even begun. That was just the tip of the burg, my friend."

"I'm not leaving."

"Gunn, go on upstairs." Buffy said, walking the rest of the way down the stairs, her eyes never leaving Angelus'.

"What?"

"Go on upstairs."

"You're not thinking straight. You haven't been right since his soul went missing."

"She wasn't right a long time before that, Charlie Boy." Angelus said, still holding Buffy's gaze. "Well, not right by your standards…."

"Gunn, if you want him to be quiet, let me deal with him."

"Buffy, he's got some sort of power over you." Gunn said. He stepped in front of Buffy so she couldn't see Angelus anymore. "Snap out of it."

Buffy looked up at Gunn calmly. "No he doesn't. But you're a different story. You've let him get to you and now…. Now he can get to you anytime he wants to and eventually he's going to push one too many buttons and you'll make a mistake and just like that…." Buffy snapped her fingers in front of Gunn's face so quick he almost didn't see it happen. "You've made the last mistake you'll ever make."

"Ooooow!" Angelus said. "What a way with words this one has."

"Trust me on this, Gunn. Let me deal with him." He didn't say anything. He just nodded and walked up the stairs.

Angelus chuckled. "Well, you must be desperate to spend more alone time with me."

"All I told him was the truth."

He smiled. "That's all I ever do, but nobody believes me."

"Until the moment they realize their mistake."

"Which is usually when they take that last breath. I'm proud of you, Buff. You've learned to twist the truth into something scary and painful. Brings a tear to the eye."

"I didn't twist any truth. That's your game."

"And you're giving it away." He started to pace. "Tell me truthfully…. Do you even care anymore?"

"About what?"

"About the lives you save? About all the good you think you're doing?" He glanced at her, watching the wheels in her brain turn. "Do you still care like you used to? Could you kill your precious Angel again if it came down to it? You couldn't kill that blob of energy you were manipulated into thinking of as your sister. You're doing it out of habit now."

"Habit?"

"You've been doing the same thing for so long…."

"Because it's the right thing to do."

"Face it, Buff…. You slept with Spike because he was dark…. Because you wanted what you had with me. You harbor that darkness deep down inside you."

"You're right. And it'll stay buried where it's at. As much as I've done for this world and the little I have to show for it…. I'd still work my ass off to save it. And yes, I could kill Angel if it came down to it."

Angelus chuckled. "I see right through you. If I asked you to come in here, you would do it."

"No I wouldn't."

"You can't resist."

"Yes, I can."

"The keys are in your back pocket. I can see the outline of them." He laughed quietly to himself. "I can see a lot more than that in those pants of yours." She looked away. "When the time comes, you'll let me walk out of here."

"Why?"

"Because you relish in that darkness. You need it. Otherwise, you're not truly alive."

Buffy heard Lorne telling her that Angelus made her feel alive and that it was ok. That there was nothing wrong with her. But she couldn't help but believe that she was wrong. She couldn't let Angelus out. He would kill. "I won't." Was all she could say.

"You will. I know you will." He smiled cruelly at her. "All those times you had a chance to kill me…. You didn't. You let me wander the streets of Sunnydale, killing off the people from school that you knew, tormenting your friends, violating you in the most sensual way. You let me kill Jenny Calendar."

"I did not."

"You let me kill her because it was revenge for not telling you about the loophole in the curse."

"No."

"Yes. Ah, Buff, you're still so young. You have so much left to learn about yourself."

"I'm not a bad person."

"Not yet. But you will be in time. And you know that. That's why you've never let me out willingly until now. You know the longer I'm let out of my cage, the closer you come to that darkness brewing inside you." He laughed. "I thought I was the ultimate schizo!"

"And you had all those chances to kill me. All those chances to release that darkness…. Why didn't you?"

"Because it's so much more fun to work your way towards it. The day you embrace it is the day I'll turn you.

"You'll be waiting a long time."

"Hey, I'm not gettin' any younger." He laid down on the floor and stretched out. "Ah, I've got plans for you Buff. Other than the obvious, of course."

Buffy shook her head and was about to retort when Fred and Wesley came down the stairs. "Cordelia had a vision. She knows how to put his soul back." Fred said.

Angelus chuckled. "I guess the Powers saw how bad you guys suck."

"Doing better than you!"

"Fred…." Buffy started.

"Ooh, she really has put on spunk, hasn't she, Wes. Not the same, shy, bitchcow we pulled out of Pylea."

"There's only one bitch here, and I'm looking at him."

"Oh, come on, we all know it's for the best. Now you can go for the real prize. Mmm…. Man, I'm telling ya….if I swung that way. Look at him! All rugged and handsome and brains…. man, he's damn-near perfect."

"Thank you." Wesley said.

"Except the part about banging Lilah for the past six months." Fred turned to look at Angelus. "That kinda takes the shine off him." Fred laughed nervously, then looked at Wesley, whose face showed guilt.

"Fred…."

"No, it…. it's none of my business. I should…." Fred turned and ran upstairs.

"Nothing like the truth, I tell ya!" Angelus said. "It hits all the right buttons."

"Connor and Gunn have gone to retrieve a part of the spell. They should be back within an hour." Wesley walked back up the stairs and left Buffy to watch Angelus.

"They're either really stupid or really trusting…. Actually, that's about the same thing."

"Why do you say that?"

"They just leave you down here all alone with me."

"I can handle myself."

He smiled and licked his lips. "I know." After a minute, he sat up. "I'm still waiting for you to come through with your half of the bargain. They're all busy setting up that spell. No one's paying attention to us."

"Your offer is intriguing, but I'm going to decline."

"Didn't you know that it's much more thrilling if there's a chance you could get caught?"

Buffy rolled her eyes. "I'm fine, thank you."

"Suit yourself. It'll just make it that much more fun for me once I do get out of here."

Buffy decided to go back upstairs and see what was happening with the spell. She had listened to Angelus ramble for the last hour and couldn't take anymore. Mainly because he was right about her every time he opened his mouth to talk about her. "What's the what?" She asked.

"Hey buttercup!" Lorne said. "Decided to join the soul party?"

"For now."

Cordelia and Fred walked into the lobby carrying magical items. "Seven talismans built to spec." Cordelia said.

"Sometimes I hate this life." Fred said.

"Dumpster diving for week-old buffalo wings, definitely not in the job description."

"Try declawing scavenged road kill for three sacred talons."

"Never do I have the happy, frolicking puppy visions. Always bones and death and…."

Connor and Gunn came through the front door. "We got the skull of the soul-eater." Connor said, setting it on the table in front of Cordelia.

"I'm just saying…."

"It looks rather fresh." Wesley said.

"Yeah, we moved up its expiration date." Gunn said, causing Connor and himself to laugh.

"Cordy?"

Cordelia closed her eyes for a moment. "I just see the skull. It doesn't have any…. you know…. parts."

"Right. Take it to the kitchen. Remove the flesh and the soft tissue."

Connor and Gunn took the head and left the room with Cordelia following.

Lilah walked into the lobby. "It's just like being at work, except suits by Liberace."

"Wesley, would you please warn this walking infection that I haven't forgotten how she poked my head open like a Capri-Sun." Lorne said. "And while my love for humanity allows me to tolerate her presence, if need be I will smack her down! Be a doll. Thanks."

"With all the excitement, I thought you would have escaped by now." Wesley said to Lilah.

"Well, I would have, but, um, it's Thursday, which means that everyone who should be in the weekly briefing is, um, dead." Lilah said.

"So you have nowhere else to go?"

"Just waiting to prove that your Powers That Be are all hat and no cattle. And if they do pull it through, well then braid my hair, and call me Pollyanna. The upside of being in it for yourself, Wes? You always end up on the winning team."

"Wesley…." Fred said. "Cordy had a question." Fred turned and left quickly.


	29. Chapter 29

Chapter 29

Cordelia and Wesley were setting up a magical circle on the floor in front of Angelus's cage while he looked on. The skull was at the center, while twigs were arranged in the shape of a circle around it. White candles were lit on the perimeter. The rest of the gang stood around in a semi-circle. Buffy stood off to the side of the cage, watching the goings-on.

"Have you all lost your mind?" Angelus asked. "You're going to use black magic to restore my soul? People, this never goes well. Am I the only one paying attention?"

"Ten-to-one, the entire hotel gets sucked into a hell dimension." Lilah said.

"You, two…. with the shutting up." Gunn said.

"Talk about eleventh-hour desperation. Face it, you're grasping. No jar, no soul."

Connor looked over at Angelus while lighting a candle. "You sound pretty desperate yourself."

"Do you have the vial?" Cordelia asked. Wes handed her a vial and she poured the contents of the vial on the skull.

"Let's be realistic." Angelus said. "Even if your precious champion makes another guest appearance, you can't stop the apocalypse. Bottom line is you're going to lose. The last thing you smell will be each other's blood."

"That's you're opinion." Fred said.

"You tell him, honey." Lilah said sarcastically.

"You, shut your fat mouth."

"Look at you…. heroes." Angelus said. "So tangled up in your own crap, you can't even find the world to save it."

"Does everyone have their talismans?" Cordelia asked.

"Hell, even Angel knew you never stood a chance. You want to know why he really let me out? Because he finally gave up. He knew you were all too weak and selfish to stop what's coming. He gave up his soul because he gave up on you."

"You're right. Buh-bye." Cordelia gestured with her hand, throwing sand at Angelus and sending him flying to the back wall.

As Wesley chanted, Angelus stood up. "Don't kid yourselves….I'll still be around long after your corpses rot." White smoke emanated from the skull and purposefully meandered toward Angelus. "I promise you. This isn't…. The end." The smoke surrounded Angleus's body, lifting him off the ground. He winced and screamed in pain. The skull in the magical circle exploded and the smoke disappeared and Angel fell to the ground.

Buffy put her hands on the bars of the cage and looked down. "Angel?

"I'm so sorry." Angel said.

"It worked." Lorne said.

"Did it?" Connor asked.

Angel sat up. "Fred."

"What?" Fred asked.

"You came down the stairs. You had blood, and I grabbed you."

"I'm fine."

"The spell, it worked. I feel it." Cordelia said.

"We have to be sure." Wesley said.

"Get Lorne to read him." Gunn said.

"Angel, are you aware of what's happened?"

"I'm back." Angel said. "There's, uh, something else. Something worse…. worse than the…."

"The Beast, yes. And we need your help to fight it, but first you have to sing for Lorne…."

"I, uh…."

"To prove it's really you."

"Oh, right. Raindrops keep falling on my head…. do do do do…. Just…."

"Oh yes. Yes! Sweet fancy B.J. Thomas, it's him. It's Angel." Lorne said.

"You sure?" Gunn asked.

"Yes, yes! The aura has totally changed, and the vibe screams soul! Ha ha! Oh, bless you and your beautiful land line to the PTB, honey!"

"He's back." Connor said.

"Then we can let him out." Fred said.

"No. I'm staying in here." Angel said. "I'm doing what's best for the group."

"Sine when is locking up the leader what's best for the group?" Cordelia asked.

"Since when does your vision come with a guarantee? For all we know, this spell is only temporary, and God forbid…. I can give orders from down in here. And the new ones are: no more back-biting, fist-fighting, fraternizing, or vengeance. From now on, you focus on one thing: making it out alive. Cause I'm only going to say this once: what Angelus told you was a lie. I haven't and will never give up on you. We'll get through this thing. Together."

"I can't believe we didn't crush you people years ago." Lilah said.

"Wes, you and Fred get back to Lilah's books. We need any new information we can on this new player. Lilah, make some coffee. Earn your keep around here." Wesly, Fred, and Lilah went upstairs. "Lorne, I want you out working low-pro real estate. If this thing is bigger than the Beast, it's gonna be laying down roots. And it'll need square footage."

"Good to have you back, boss." Lorne walked upstairs.

"In the mean time, Connor, Gunn, work damage control. Sweep the surrounding blocks for civilians. Save who you can. Connor, it's me."

"I know." Connor said. He walked upstairs after Gunn.

Angel looked at Buffy. "Buffy…. I…."

"Forget about it." Buffy said. "Unlike most people, I know the difference between Angel and Angelus." She looked at him for a long moment and then walked upstairs.

Angelus nodded and looked at Cordelia. "Cordy…."

"No." She said.

"I didn't say anything."

"True, but I thought I should tell you upfront that I don't take orders from guys too scared to step out of their cages."

"I made the right call. This way, everybody stays safe."

"And you don't have to look anyone in the eyes. Bonus."

"I hate that you saw me like that."

"Guess it's only fair. Besides, you're not him. You think we don't get that, but we do."

"What if…. Wh-what if the spell doesn't last?"

"The Powers need a champion, Angel. And obviously they need one pretty bad the way things are going. Who knows, you might even be their only hope, Obi-Wan."

"So, how do I go up there?"

"Easy. Leave him and what you did inside the cage." Cordelia unlocked his cage and opened the door. Angel walked out. "You're not Angelus."

Angelus grinned and pulled Cordy up to him violently. "Guess again!"

Cordelia kneed Angelus in the groin, punched him in the face, and shut herself inside the cage, holding onto the bars. Angelus reached in and grabbed her, pulling her head forward and knocking it on the bars. Cordelia fell to the ground unconscious.

"Stay down!"

Angelus trotted upstairs, letting his vampire face fade away and smiling. Fred was working in the office when Angelus walked up behind her, still impersonating Angel. Fred gasped. "Sorry if I scared you." He said.

"Angel…. I thought…."

"Cordy let me out. Actually, I…. I asked her to be let out. You know what? Never mind."

"No, wait. I'm the one who's sorry. After everything you've been through, I…."

"It has been a little rough."

"On all of us. The stress is…."

"I know I could use a drink." Fred looked at him, wide-eyed and frozen. "Now, you see? That's what I was afraid of. For the rest of your life, you'll only see this evil thing."

"You're my friend, Angel. Past is past, and done is done."

"Thanks, Fred. Can I get a hug?" They heard something crash in the lobby and they both turned to look. When Fred looked back at Angel, he was gone.

A pile of broken coffee mugs and napkins were strewn on the floor. Lilah was standing behind them. Connor and Gunn were in the lobby too. _No Buffy._ Angelus noted.

"It's my inner megalomaniac. I, uh, rebel at serving coffee." Lilah said.

"Angel, I thought you were confined…." Wesley said.

Angelus edged toward the door. "Change in plans. Cordy actually talked me out of staying down there. Now, I've got my own mission."

"Which is….?" Connor asked.

"Too dangerous, son. I'm afraid you can't go with me. Where's Buffy?"

"She went out to patrol."

"By herself?" Connor nodded. "Maybe I'll catch up to her, then." Angelus rushed out the door. He roamed through the streets getting more and more annoyed. It was like a war zone, with fires going, dead bodies littering the streets, and abandoned vehicles blocking the road. People were fighting and screaming in the streets.

"Like shooting fish in a barrel. Where's the fun in that?" He saw a little girl running out of a building and grabbed her, but she was a vampire too. "What happened to pedestrians? _Human_ pedestrians! Is there no fast food left in Los Angeles?"

* * *

Buffy walked through the relatively quiet graveyard. The whole of Los Angeles was going to hell, but she'd managed to find the one graveyard that no one was messing with. It had been an hour since the spell to restore Angel's soul had taken place. She was sure Angel had felt what she felt. The spell wasn't full. He was only partially Angel. That's why he had opted to stay in the cage.

She had decided to leave on patrol to get away from everything. She had cooped herself up with Angelus for too long. His words were starting to get to her head. So, patrolling seemed to be the first thing that came to her mind when she wanted to get away. She had killed a few demons and staked about nine vamps on her way to the graveyard. So, she figured she's reach her quota on her way back to the hotel.

Surprisingly, the chaos had moved on to a different part of the city because she only ran into three vamps which she quickly dispatched. When Buffy got back to the Hyperion, the lobby was deserted. "Hello?" No one answered. She checked the monitor to see if Angel was still in the cage, but it was shut off. She headed downstairs to look and saw that the door was open and Angel was gone. "Angel?" She walked back upstairs. "Anybody?"

Connor appeared on the landing on the second floor. "I thought I heard you."

"Where is everyone?"

"Upstairs. Angelus…. Cordelia let him out and he killed Lilah."

"What?!"

Connor came down the stairs and hugged Buffy tightly. "Are you ok? He said he was going to look for you."

"He didn't find me. You mean…. Angelus is loose?" Connor nodded. "Oh my God…." Buffy's knees gave way and she felt her head swim.

Connor caught her and carried her over to the couch. "Just breathe."

Lorne came downstairs. "Where did…. Oh thank the heavens, she's all right!" He rushed down the stairs and came to Buffy's side. "Are you all right, sweet pea?"

"Angelus…."

"She's a little faint." Connor said. "She didn't know."

Lorne picked up a magazine and fanned Buffy with it. "It's all right. You'll be ok and we'll catch him and put him back where he belongs. Don't fret."

"He killed Lilah?" Buffy asked.

"Wes and Gunn found him feeding on her upstairs."

"I'm sorry. I didn't know."

"It's not your fault, dumpling. I'm the one that said it was him. My empathy must be going hay-wire with all the chaos."

"And Cordelia let him out." Connor said.

"I have to stop him." Buffy sat up. "He's out there…. He's killing people. He'll come back…."

"Don't worry. I'm calling up some friends of mine and we're going to work a little magic. This place will be demon-violence-free in a jif."

* * *

Gunn and Fred brought spices to Lorne, who was talking on the phone at the front desk. Buffy, Cordy, and Connor were also in the lobby. Buffy sat on the couch nervously playing with her fingernails. Connor sat beside her and patted her knee or shoulder every now and then. Cordelia sat on Connor's other side with her leg bandaged where Angelus had thrown an arrow into it.

"Mm-hmm. Yeah, ok. All right, well not so fast, girls. Yeah, one at a time. Yeah, ok. Violence restrained. Uh-huh. Go on."

"That's everything we could find." Fred said.

Lorne took the phone away from his ear and covered the mouthpiece with his hand. "They say we need bloodroot."

"Bloodroot?" Gunn asked. "Man, we just raided the spice rack in the kitchen. There ain't no bloodroot in there."

Lorne put phone to his ear again. "Uh, 86 on the bloodroot, ladies. Anything else we can…. Well, yeah, I have, uh, paprika, ginger, allspice, clove…. Cloves? That'll work? Oh, got it. Beautiful. Hey, soon as FTD's delivering in the city again, expect a big _Thanks a Bunch_ bouquet from me, girls. Ciao!" He hung up.

"Looks like we got our home security spell." Cordelia said.

"Right you are, missy. As soon as we sprinkle burnt clove dust around the perimeter, light a few candles, incant a few choice phrases, we'll be…."

"Hurry up and do it." Connor said. "The sooner we quit playing with magic tricks, the sooner we find and kill Angelus."

"Wesley says we shouldn't go after him." Fred said.

"I don't give a flying slop what Wesley says. He's not my boss. Where the hell is he, anyway? How long does it take to chop off Lilah's head?"

"Boss or no, he's right when he says we stay together till we know what we have to do." Gunn said.

"I know what we have to do. Angel told me. Something goes wrong, I kill him."

"Oh ho ho. Now you listen to him?" Lorne said.

"Aren't you forgetting something? Angel's soul is still out there somewhere. That means there's still a chance we could bring him back." Fred said.

"How many people have to die before we give up on that plan?" Connor asked.

"How many people have to die without Angel around to save them?" Buffy asked him.

"It's way too late for that. I've seen his true face. And he's tasted blood. There's no going back now. He has to be destroyed. And I'm the destroyer." Connor turned to walk out the front door.

"Connor, stop." Buffy snapped, standing up. He turned to look at her. "Lorne, start on that spell. As soon as it's done, Gunn, you, Connor, Wesley, and me are loading up and going out. Are we all clear on the fact that we are not killing Angelus? We're going to capture him and bring him back."

"Finally, someone with a plan!" Gunn said.

"But Angel said…." Connor started.

"I don't care what he said." Buffy snapped. "As long as Angel's soul is out there and there's a way to restore it, Angelus lives. I don't care if you like the plan, but that's it." Connor huffed and sat down on the couch. "Lorne, I'm not hearing chanting."

"On it." A few minutes later, Fred lit white candles as Lorne read off the incantation. "Violence restrained, demons disarmed. For mortals within these walls, no harm. Protection and safety this charm doth endow to make this shelter a sanctuary now."

Everyone looked around, waiting for something to happen. "That it?" Gunn asked.

"Well, if we followed the recipe…. should be cake. A demon violence-free zone cake."

"I don't know, Lorne. It doesn't feel like anything's different." Fred said.

"Cause it's not." Connor said. "Like every other lame spell you people try, it didn't work. It never works. I've pretty much concluded that magic sucks. I mean, if I were you guys, I wo…." Buffy let Lorne sneak up behind Connor and try to hit him with a candlestick while Connor was talking, but a force field stopped him and sent him backward.

"See? It worked." Buffy said to Connor. "So, stop bitching."

"It also smarts like the dickens." Lorne said, leaning against the front desk in pain.

"Sanctuary spell's working?" Wesley asked, walking out of the basement.

"Yeah, like a charm. Literally."

"Ok," Buffy said loudly to catch everyone's attention. "Let's get down to it. Wesley and Connor, start loading up. We're gonna keep this hunting party tight. Gunn, arm yourself how you like, but I want you to carry the tranq gun. If I can't take him down, I want you to be ready to take the shot. If Angelus needs putting down, I'll be the one to do it. Now, I want to see weapons."


	30. Chapter 30

Chapter 30

Buffy, Connor, Wesley, and Gunn walked down the streets looking for Angelus. Connor was still in a bad mood from Buffy putting him down so quickly and his pride had been hurt. Buffy led the boys, using her connection to Angelus draw her like it had years ago. They came up to a chain link fence.

"He was here. Just." Connor said as he went through the fence.

"Guys, I want eyes and ears peeled. Watch your surroundings. Nobody make a move until I…." A vampire jumped out in front of Connor and Connor immediately swung his sword at the vampire's neck, cutting off its head, and dusting it. Buffy grabbed his shirt and hauled him back. "What did I just say?"

"He was attacking!" Connor defended.

"You thought it was Angelus." Buffy sighed and let him go. "Connor, go back to the hotel."

"What?"

"You heard me. If you can't listen, then you're going back.

"Yeah, sure I will."

"Connor, if you want to fight me then you better saddle up tight cause you're in for a rough beating." He stared at her. "Go back to the hotel. Gunn, make sure he gets there."

"Buffy…."

"Go." Connor raised his hands and backed away, picking up his sword on the way.

"I like you." Gunn said, tossing Wes the tranq gun and following Connor.

Buffy sighed and pressed the heel of her palm to her forehead for a minute. The she looked at Wesley. "Come on."

"Do you know where we're going?" Wesley asked.

"Particularly? No."

"How do you expect to find Angelus without Connor?"

"The old-fashioned way." She looked at Wesley. "Everyone seems to forget that I'm the one that was left to deal with him for five months back in Sunnydale. Trust me, Wes, something'll turn up. A trail of bodies, a telling clue…." Buffy looked up at a huge sign hung from the side of a building that read _Hello Lover!_ She pointed at it. "Maybe I'll even get lucky with a carpet fiber."

"So much for the element of surprise. We'll have to come at him from two sides."

"I agree." Then Buffy disappeared, moving so fast, Wesley lost her. He found her climbing the side of the building. "You take low. I'll hit him high."

Buffy jumped down from the roof into the warehouse. She made it a few feet before she heard his voice. "Hello lover. I knew you couldn't stay away."

"So, what are you waiting for? Come out and gimme a kiss." Buffy carefully picked her way through the warehouse, keeping her senses alert.

"You know the game, baby. You come to me. Getting warmer. Warmer…. warmer. You're smoking hot." Buffy turned to see Angelus standing behind her. "But then again, you probably knew that." He walked up to her and ran the tips of his fingers down her spine, admiring the black leather pants, crimson, red velvet spaghetti strap top, and long black leather duster she was wearing. "Did you wear the outfit just for me? To remind us of the good old days?"

"Thought it might bring back some memories."

"I'm a little disappointed, to tell you the truth. I thought you'd wear those tight pants you used to wear. You know…. The ones that ripped off you so easily."

"I couldn't make it easy for you."

" We're on the same page." Angelus looked behind her. "Honey, I brought a guest home for dinner." Buffy turned to see the Beast standing behind her. "Let's eat."

"What is this, Angelus?" The Beast asked.

Buffy looked back at Angel. "You know, I gotta agree with him. What is this? Too scared to fight me? Have to team up with Rocky here?"

Angelus shrugged and smiled. Buffy heard the Beast take a step towards her and she turned and punched him. He grabbed her throat and lifted her up, dangling her feet a foot off the ground. "I thought we could try a threesome for a change."

Buffy reached back and punched Angelus and then the Beast, wrestling free of his grip. "Sure. Let's get it on." Buffy punched at the Beast everywhere she could think of, but to no avail. When her knuckles felt like they were on fire and bloody, she went to kick the Beast, but he grabbed her ankle and swung her around, sending her ten feet backward where she crashed into the side of a crate.

"That's gonna sting in the morning." Angelus said. The Beast gained the upper hand easily and Buffy was bleeding and moving slower. He kicked her to the ground, then stepped on her as she tried to get up. "Come on, Buffy! You're not even trying." The Beast grabbed Buffy and hauled her up to face him. She spit blood in his face and he lifted her over his head and body-slammed her into the floor. "Better get up." The Beast kicked her across the room and Buffy was so sore, she couldn't ball up to brace for impact. "Oh! You know, somebody should break this up." Buffy couldn't take anymore and tried to crawl away, but the Beast walked up to her.

"This is all you are. I had heard the slayer possessed great strength, but there's no real power here. My master's power is beyond all limits, beyond your petty imagining. You are weak. You're nothing. You could not even defeat me and you tried multiple times."

"Ain't that the truth." Angelus asked, walking up beside the Beast. "I mean, look at this guy, hmm? Pretty much the only thing that could do damage to that thick, stony hide…. is himself. Or, maybe, I don't know," He pulled out a knife that looked like carved rock. "A piece of himself." Angelus stabbed the Beast in the back with the knife.

The Beast couldn't reach the knife to pull it out and he screamed in agony as the wound started to glow yellow. It glowed brighter and brighter, consuming the Beast. Suddenly, bright light shot up from his body toward the sky.

"I knew it. I knew it!" Angelus crowed as the Beast's body crumbled to bits in front of Buffy, who was still sitting on the floor, weak and beaten. Outside, the sun suddenly flared bright and Angelus rolled his eyes. "Aw, crap! You mean, killing the Beast really does bring back the sun? Aah! Oh, well, what're you gonna do? Take the bad with the good, I always say. Anyway, I just wanted Beastie boy here to soften you up. You know how I like my meat nice and tender." Buffy stood up and swung a heavy hook and chain toward Angelus, but it went right by him as he dodged it easily as she fell to the floor again. "Ooh, swing and a miss, slugger. Sorry, but…." The hook and chain broke through a dirty window to allow sunlight into the room. Buffy laid in the sunlight as Angelus ducked for cover. "God! Ok. Well, I gotta give you props. Nice move, really. I guess we'll just have to take a rain check on that whole slowly torturing you thing. Just you and me, now, Buff." He started to walk away, but turned and looked back at her. "Keep your balcony door open. I may be nice and visit you even though you came here to kill me." Then he was gone, leaving Buffy bleeding and broken on the floor of the warehouse.

"Buffy!" Wesley ran into the warehouse and searched for her. She was too weak to even call out to him. When he found her, she was half way to being passed out. "Oh, dear lord!" Tears fell from Buffy's eyes as she struggled to stand. "Just stay down for a minute. Catch your bearings."

"I couldn't…. The Beast." Buffy allowed Wes to guide her head to his knee as he sat down next to her.

"You killed the Beast?"

"No. Angelus…. He killed the Beast. The Beast is the one that did this to me."

Wesley moved Buffy's blood-matted blonde hair out of the way and looked down at her face. It was covered in blood and he couldn't see how bad her wounds were because of the blood. "We need to get you to a hospital."

"No. Take me back to the hotel."

"Can you stand?"

"Can you…. Would you help me?"

"Certainly." Wesley helped her stand with a chuckle.

"What?"

"I never thought you would ask for my help. You were always so…. Rebellious towards me."

Buffy laughed and then groaned with the pain it caused her. "Don't make me laugh."

"Sorry." Wesley gently led her out of the warehouse and back towards the car.

* * *

Back at the hotel, everyone gasped at Buffy's appearance and rushed to her aid. Connor, despite being pissed off at her still, jumped in and moved everybody away. "Oh my God, Buffy…. Are you ok?"

"I feel so great, I could compete in a ski jump." Buffy said sarcastically.

"Come on. Sit here."

Buffy walked painfully forward, struggling with each small scuffle of her shoes. Blood dripped on the floor from her badly cut and bruised body. "I think he broke some ribs."

"Angelus did this to you?" Gunn asked.

"The Beast. He was working with the Beast."

"You killed the Beast!?" Lorne asked. "Hallelujah! Praise the Powers."

Buffy looked away sadly. "Angelus did."

"Angelus killed…. Why?" Fred asked.

"I don't know. Why does he do anything?"

Wesley walked up and brushed Buffy's hair away from her bruised jaw. "Hold this." He pressed a cold-pack to her jaw. "I'll get bandages."

"No worries."

"You were nearly killed."

"I just need a shower."

Connor was up in a second. "I'll help you up there."

"Thanks." Buffy stood painfully, wincing with the effort.

"Buffy, are you sure you're ok?" Wesley asked.

"I'll live." Buffy handed Wesley the ice pack and let Connor lead her away toward the stairs. It took a good ten minutes to get upstairs and into Angel's room, but they made it and Buffy headed into the bathroom. She looked in the mirror at her bloodied and beaten face. For a moment, tears welled in her eyes, but she pushed them back. She took off her boots then slipped off her duster and top to reveal a severely battered body. In places, she had bloody gashes and scrapes, in others, only bruises. She unhooked her black, strapless bra, unbuckled her pants and dropped them to the ground.

Standing painfully on tiptoes, she pushed back the shower curtain and stepped gingerly into the shower with bloody, beaten legs. She turned the hot water knob only and stood tentatively under the shower nozzle, leaning into the water slightly so only her face was being washed. The tiny jets of hot water felt soothing as she turned her face from side to side, letting the water pour down over her. Blood was streaking down her body and legs, draining down the drain. Weakly, she pushed her hair aside to let the water rinse the dried blood off her cheek and out of her hair.

In utter exhaustion, she stared through the shower stream in front of her. Suddenly, she couldn't take it anymore and she began to sob, leaning against the wall to keep her from falling. Her body ached more than she'd ever known it to. Her mind hurt from all the stress and pent up emotions swirling around in there. Her heart hurt that she had been the one to release Angelus. Not once, but twice. She had known, deep down, that Cordelia's spell hadn't worked and she hadn't said anything…. Just like he said she would. And she knew she would leave her balcony door open for him if she had the chance. She hated herself for it, but she wanted his touch. Maybe he would be gentle and she could pretend he was Angel again. Loving her. Caressing her tenderly. Worshiping her body.

Buffy gathered her composure and pushed her hair back out of her face, trying to catch her breath. Finally, she shut her eyes and stepped fully under the shower into the water.

* * *

Gunn handed out loaded tranquilizer guns to Fred and Lorne and took one for himself. "Meet your new best friend." He said. "If super-bad shows up, the sanctuary spell should keep us safe, but…."

"But?" Fred said. "There's always a but. When this is over, can we have a big but moratorium?"

"Did I mention that the only shots I'm good at involve Tequila?" Lorne asked.

"You don't think Angelus is planning a repeat performance, do you? I…. I mean, he's gotta know we'd be prepared."

"Doesn't mean we drop our guard." Gunn said. "If he pops a fang in here, thwack him where it hurts."

"Yeah, good night not-so-sweet prince." Lorne said.

"I'm gonna recheck downstairs, make sure he can't creep in through any of the sewer tunnels."

"Yeah, if Lilah managed to break and enter…." Fred was startled and she drew her gun on Connor, who was just come down the stairs. "Sorry, I…."

"How's Buffy?" Gunn asked.

"You know…. Tired, I guess. And, oh yeah, pretty banged up." Connor said.

"Maybe I should stop up and che…."

"No. She's in the shower still. I was just going to get her something to eat. She hasn't eaten in a while." Connor walked off to the kitchen

"Odd bird. And getting birdier." Lorne said.

Fred sighed. "Poor Buffy. She kind of got demolished, didn't she? She's supposed to be our best chance of getting Angel back, but what if she's not up to it now?"

* * *

Buffy stepped out of the shower and wrapped herself in a towel. She didn't glance in the mirror on her way out. In the bedroom, she discovered that someone had lain out a pair of jeans with black roses on a twisting vine embroidered up the side of the legs and a black tunic-sweater that had a deep V collar and loose, fluttery sleeves.

"These aren't mine." She said.

"They are now." Angelus said from the corner of the room next to the bathroom door. "I took the liberty of picking something pretty out for you." Buffy looked over at him. "Do you have enough concealer for all that?"

"Get out."

He stood up and walked over to her, gently running a finger over her bruised jaw. "Awe, come on, Buff. I didn't do this to you."

"You let it happen."

"It was no fun to watch."

"You're running commentary said otherwise."

"You know I like to make you bleed myself. But I needed a distraction to kill the Beast. You've always been the best distraction I know of." All the time he was talking, he had moved behind her and was pressing kisses on her shoulder blade and up her neck.

Buffy felt herself melting into his arms, hoping for someone to come save her from herself. "Angelus…."

"God, I love it when you say my name." He gently undid the towel around her and it dropped the floor. Angelus let out a long, low whistle as he saw her battered body. "He really did a number on you, Buff." She took a deep breath and winced at the pain it caused in her ribs. Getting angry at him, she moved away and started getting dressed.

"As soon as I get dressed, I'm going downstairs and going back out there to help Wesley look for you again."

"But I'm right here."

"And you shouldn't be." She put on the top and turned to glare at him. "Leave, Angelus." He stepped up to her and tilted her head back, gently biting and sucking at her collarbone. "Please. Before I don't have the strength to say no to you."

"I'm not leaving. Not until I get your side of the bargain."

"Buffy!" Connor knocked on the door outside. "Are you dressed?"

Angelus smirked at Buffy. "I should let him come in and see who you truly are. Let him see you love a demon more than him. That should really mess him up, huh?"

"Leave." Buffy growled. "Now."

"Catch you later." He went over to the balcony and disappeared over the side.

"Buffy?" Connor's voice was more concerned now.

Buffy went over and opened the door. "I'm dressed."

"Are you ok?"

"Fine." Buffy let Connor in and then walked over to the bed and put on her boots.

"You're not going back out there, are you?"

"He's out there, Connor. I need to bring him back."

"You need to kill him."

"No."

"Buffy…."

"I'm not killing him. Not if there's a chance we can re-ensoul him."

"Magic again?" Connor shook his head. "That crap…."

"Connor, magic is part of our lives. You just haven't had a good experience with it yet."

"It doesn't look like I ever will, either."

"You will, Connor." Buffy perked up. "In fact, it'll be sooner rather than later." She grabbed her leather jacket, which she noticed Angelus had cleaned off for her, and slipped it on.

Connor followed her out. "Where are you going?"

"I'm going to call Willow?"

"Is that smart? Didn't you say she murdered someone with magic and was trying to stop using it?"

"She's not stopped using magic, Connor. She's learning to use it in a positive way. In a good way." Buffy heard a commotion as they neared the lobby stairs. She saw Angelus standing in front of the elevators holding a book up. A dart hit it and he looked down at someone in the lobby.

"Can't beat a good book." Angelus grinned. "Too bad. I was just starting to have fun."

"Why stop now?" Buffy retorted. Connor lunged past Buffy at Angelus, but a force field blocked and repelled him, sending him over the balcony ledge. He landed on the lobby floor and Fred ran to his side.

"Connor!" Buffy yelled, looking over the balcony.

"Well, isn't that interesting." Angelus said. He leaned on the balcony railing and looked at Buffy. "You look pretty banged up. But I like the clothes." Buffy launched herself at Angelus, but he leapt down to the lobby and pulled the dart out of the book, throwing it on the floor in front of Fred. "Nice try, Fred. You think about how close you came to stopping me when I'm slaughtering all your friends."

Just as Buffy jumped off the balcony, Angelus walked out of the lobby. Outside, Wesley rounded the corner into the entrance just as Angelus walked out. Buffy ran up behind Angelus and kicked him in the back. He stumbled and turned, glaring at her. Wesley aimed a dart gun at Angelus, but Angelus pushed Buffy into Wesley, knocking the gun from Wes's hands where it landed in the bushes. Angelus grabbed the unarmed Wesley by the throat and looked at Buffy.

"Sucky spell, huh? You think it'd at least go to the sidewalk."

"Let him go. This is between you and me." Buffy said.

"It's never just between you and me, Buffy. I thought we were clear on that when I had Drusilla kill that other Slayer. That's it. Do the math. Can you get to me before I snap his neck? You still that fast with all those bruises slowing you down? Wes is just dying to find out, aren't you, Wes?"

"Do it." Wesley said.

"That's it. Come on. Do it. Take your shot, and save the world. What're you waiting for? It's all about choices, Buff. The ones we make, and the ones we don't. Oh, and the consequences. Those are always fun." He squeezed Wes's neck harder. "Don't worry about good old Wes. What's one more body to us? Come on, where's my girl?"

Gunn ran out into the garden. "Buffy!" He threw a gun to Buffy and pointed his own gun at Angelus. Angelus let Wesley go and ran away. Buffy shot and missed twice before Angelus was gone. While Gunn went to follow Angelus, Buffy tossed her gun away and went to Wesley's aid.

"Go!" Wesley ordered.

Buffy got up and went to Gunn's side. "He's gone."


	31. Chapter 31

Chapter 31

Lorne was sleeping on a couch in the lobby. Buffy was sitting on the settee talking with Wesley. Connor sat on the stairs watching her and annoyed about the spell going off on him. Gunn and Fred were talking behind the front desk.

"All I'm saying is, he tries dancing in here and pulling a Dark Shadows again, he's gonna get a dart up his evil ass." Gunn said.

"Well, his ass moves pretty quick." Fred said. "He got the book and the Wolfram and Hart papers."

"Not your fault."

"Bet they think it was." Fred looked over at Wesley and Buffy. "Buffy wouldn't have fallen for a cheap hunk of crap like this."

"I'm just glad it was. If anything happened to you…."

"Charles, can we maybe…."

Wesley cocked a shotgun and Buffy looked at him sharply. "What're you doing with that?"

"Changing the game." Wes said.

"I thought I said we weren't going for the kill."

"We're not, but if we get another chance, I want slow him down long enough to tranq him."

"By blowing his legs off?" Fred asked.

"You want some help with that?" Gunn offered.

"No. I need someone I trust to watch the hotel. Someone who can actually hurt Angelus." Wesley said.

"Oh, I'm all over that."

"Be careful. Next time he shows up, he might be packing the real thing." Wesley walked out with Buffy right behind him.

"Start with a perimeter sweep." Buffy said. "I'll take point. If he's still in the area…."

"You'll let him escape again?"

"This coming from the boy hostage?"

"Angelus was right. You should have gone for him."

"He would have killed you."

"And how many will he have the chance to murder now because you let that make a difference? Angelus is an animal. The only way to defeat him is to be just as vicious as he is."

"Wes, seriously? I know all this. But I also know how to handle him while saving my friends."

"How many died in Sunnydale because you let him live?"

"Oh…."

"How many?"

"I don't know! But I live with that blood on my hands every day! You think I don't feel guilty about it? He killed people I knew to get at me. They're dead because of me and I know it. The first woman Giles truly loved is dead because of me. Angel's not the only one searching for atonement."

* * *

Buffy bashed a demon's head into the bar. She had tracked Angelus here and two vamps near the pool table had said Angelus had been talking to this demon. "Come on. I bruise easy." He whined.

Buffy pulled the demon up. "Gee, I wonder what color you'll be when I'm done." She smashed his head into the bar again.

"Ow!"

A vampire came at Wesley, but Wesley aimed his shotgun at the vampire. "Let's not, shall we?"

The vamp smiled and put his hands up. "It's cool, dude. No worries."

"I don't remember anything. I was drunk. I thought she was 18." The demon said.

"I'm gonna work real hard on the not understanding that, lumpy." Buffy said.

"Frances." Buffy shoved the demon's head into the bar again. "Ow!"

"Break his head open. See if there's any candy." Someone said behind them.

"Hey, what do I look like, a piñata?"

Buffy grinned. "Ooh, let's find out." She went to bash his head again, but he stopped her.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Ease off the contusion. What do you want to know?"

"Where's Angelus?"

"Who?" Buffy bashed his head on the bar again. "Ow!"

"We've been breathing stale beer and blood half the night in piss holes like this."

"Guess where it led us." Wesley said.

"Look, I'm telling ya, I don't know nothing." The demon whinded. "On my mother's tumor." He noticed a demon sneaking up behind Wes and Buffy, intending to attack them and he changed his tone. "And even if I did, I'd never yak to a couple of fleshbags that are about to get their internal organs sucked out of their…."

Without looking, Wesley shot behind him with the shotgun, nailing the would-be attacker in the face. "Strom demon. Face should grow back." He cocked the shotgun. "Eventually."

"Think yours will?" Buffy asked the demon.

"Oh, that Angelus." The demon said. "Yeah, in here all the time running his mouth. 'Look at me, I'm so evil.' Real jackass. Never liked him. I'm on your side." Buffy hit the demon's head against the bar again.

"Where is he?" Wesley asked.

"I don't know. I swear. He was in here earlier giving us the blah blah blah, and then he started mumbling to himself like a big pretty freak, and then…. he slipped into the back."

"Back where?" Buffy asked. The demon pointed to the back room. "Good job, slappy." Buffy slammed his head on the counter again for good measure and she and Wesley, with his gun at the ready, walked into the back room through a beaded curtain. Buffy looked around at the drugged-out people and vampires. "What the…." A vampire lunged at them, knocking Wesley over. It tried to choke Buffy, but she just punched him, whipped out a stake and turned him to dust. "You ok?" Buffy asked, helping Wesley to his feet.

"Dandy." He said.

They moved on and Buffy went to the side of a woman who was nearly passed out on a couch. "Hey, I'm gonna get you out of here."

Wesley picked up a hypodermic syringe from the floor. "Buffy…."

"Can you walk?" Buffy saw the girl's arm covered in track marks.

"No, but I can fly." The girl said.

"What did they do to her?"

"She did it to herself. It's called Orpheus. They shoot up, the vampires feed, use them like a filter. I've read the effects can be quite intoxicating…. for both of them." Wesley said.

"Hey, you're pretty. You wanna make out?" The girl asked Buffy.

Buffy grabbed the girl by the collar and pushed her roughly against the wall. "There was a vampire in here earlier. Tall, dark hair…." The girl's eyes drifted, but Buffy grabbed her face. "Listen!"

"Ok. God! What's your issue?"

"Tall, dark hair, talking to himself."

"Let go."

Buffy punched the girl in the face. "Did you see him?"

"No, I didn't. Stop it, you're hurting me!"

Buffy looked at the girl and then let her go. "She doesn't know anything." Buffy started to walk away.

Wesley walked up to the girl. "Maybe not." He took out a knife and stabbed the girl in the shoulder.

"What the hell are you doing!?"

"Shut up!" Wesley looked at the girl. "The tracks on your arms…. you've been here, what, two or three days straight?" He twisted the knife. "Answer me!"

"Yeah, God, stop! Yes four…. four days."

"Then you must've seen the vampire we're looking for."

"Angelus, I saw him. He, uh…."

"Where is he?"

"I don't know." Wesley punched her. "I don't know! Please stop!"

"They said he was talking to himself. What was he saying?"

"I don't know. It wa…. It was like he was talking to someone else. It was all rain of fire a-and pulling strings and a soul. That's all I heard. Please stop. It hurts." Wesley pulled the knife out of the girl and Buffy ran to the girl's side.

"Have you completely lost it?" Buffy snapped at him.

"I avoided the main arteries. She'll live, if that's what you call this. Whatever's controlling the Beast…. it's made contact with Angelus." Wesley walked out.

Buffy wanted to help the girl, but she needed to find Angelus. She helped the girl back onto the couch and noticed an unused syringe with covered needle attached sitting on the coffee table. She figured Angelus wouldn't be able to resist turning her when he had the chance, despite what he had told her before. Buffy grabbed the syringe and shoved it into her coat pocket and then followed Wesley as he walked out of the demon bar with the shotgun over his shoulder.

"So, what? Torturing humans part of the new makeover?" Buffy asked.

"I did what I had to do because you couldn't." Wesley said.

"I hit her." She said defensively.

"You think that's something new to her?"

"You crossed it back there, Wes. What you did back there…." Wesley suddenly punched Buffy and in her anger, she instinctively pushed Wesley violently against the chain link fence, taking the gun from him and raising it back to hit him with it, but she stopped short.

"See, that wasn't so hard, was it? It's what you'll need to beat him."

Buffy put the gun down and stepped back. "No."

"You have to be willing to take it all the way, Buffy."

"I'm not killing Angel. There's another way."

"And what way would that be?"

Buffy held out the syringe filled with the drug and walked away, putting it back in her pocket.

* * *

In a dimly lit, under-construction but beautifully architected room, Buffy and Wesley wandered tentatively amongst the columns and arches. Buffy sighed and looked around. "Even if he got the fake hoodoo from this Maury guy, why would he hang around?"

"He wouldn't, but this Maury that Lorne knows may be able to help us find where Angelus is hiding." Wesley said. As they walked forward through the shop, they found a creature lying dead on the floor, blood seeping from his body onto papers scattered all over the ground.

"No…." Buffy and Wesley turned to look at Angelus, who was standing behind them. "But I can."

"Hello lover." Buffy said, unfazed by his sudden appearance.

"A little birdie in my head told me you'd be here. Ooh. Exciting." Buffy shot at Angelus with her dart gun but missed. Angelus kicked her in the stomach and she went flying back into a column. Wesley cocked the shotgun and fired a round at Angelus who ducked. "Gotta do better than that, Wes." Wes shot and missed. "Come on, I'll give you one more." Wes shot in Angelus's face, but Angelus grabbed the barrel as Wes shot, managing to avoid being shot. "Strike three." He threw Wes through a window and over a ledge where he landed 20 feet down. "Uh-oh." While that was going on, Buffy had whipped out the syringe and buried the needle in her arm, injecting the drug in her. She stood and ran away. "Vampire with a gun." Angelus shot at Buffy. "I can see why he likes this thing." Buffy dove and fell down a staircase with Angelus right behind her. "Wow." He pointed the shotgun in Buffy's face. "All you had to do was come through with your half of the bargain and it would've been a lot easier. But now…. We're gonna play the hard way." Buffy kicked the shotgun away from Angelus, then kicked at his feet. He jumped and she got up and started punching him. "Looks like we got a live one." Buffy kicked Angelus and he punches her in the face. "For now." Angelus kicked Buffy and she stumbled away, her head starting to spin from the drugs. "A little tired, lover? You wanna take a break?" Angelus kicks her again and again, rolling her across the floor, and she didn't fight back. "Now, this is disappointing. You never used to bleed so easy."

Buffy made it up on her hands and knees and looked up at him. "Screw you."

"I planned on it, but you're the one making it so difficult. But now that you're in such a great position…." Angelus moved behind her and Buffy pulled the knife from the sleeve of her jacket and hurled it at Angelus, hitting him in the chest. She got up, took the knife back out of Angelus, and started slicing at him. She threw the knife in the air, punched him, then caught the knife to cut him again. He kicked her in the ribs, sending her across the room, then he leapt up into the scaffolding in one smooth move. Buffy looked around trying to find where he went. "That hurt, baby. Kinda liked it." He chuckled. "How 'bout you?"

"Come out and fight me, damn it!" Buffy kicked some scaffolding, sending it crashing to the floor, but he wasn't there.

"There's my girl. I knew she was in there somewhere dying to come out and play again."

"Shut up."

"I know how it feels…. forced to be someone you're not. Hurts to the bone. You try to bury the pain, but you can't get the hole deep enough, can you? No matter how much you dig, it's still there. Broken shards stabbing every time you breathe, cutting you up inside. You know, there's only one way to make the pain stop." Angelus jumped down from the scaffolding. "Let me in." Buffy stabbed at him, but he grabbed her wrist. She dropped the knife as Angelus kicked her up into the scaffolding. He jumped up after her and Buffy clung to the outside of the scaffolding twisting painfully to avoid Angelus's punches, but he connected, sending her across the room. He jumped and followed her. Buffy tried to get away from him, leaping from one level to another, her ribs on fire where the bones were cracked, but he caught up with her and threw her to the ground. He jumped down on top of her, landing between her legs.

"Come on, Buffy, you're not even trying." He grabbed her throat and pinned her beneath him. "You'll be mine one way or another. You ARE mine." Angelus leaned over and licked her exposed skin where the V-neck of the sweater fell. She was too weak now with the drug and from the beating she had taken both from the Beast and Angelus. Knowing this was probably the end of her life, Buffy closed her eyes and looked away. She felt Angelus vamp and he released her neck. "Yeah, baby. It'll be over soon." The familiar pricks broke the skin on her scar and Angelus started to suck the life out of her. Suddenly, he pulled away and glared at her. He wiped his mouth fiercely. "What…. did you do?" He fell off of Buffy and tried to stand. "You…. you sp…. You spiked…." Angelus passed out.

Wesley regained consciousness and ran over to Buffy. "You all right?"

"Kicked his ass." And with that, Buffy passed out as well.


	32. Chapter 32

Chapter 32

Fred was researching at the front desk when Gunn came in through the front door carrying a passed-out Angelus. "Connor!"

"Oh, my God! Angelus." Fred said.

Gunn carried Angelus down the stairs. "Pick up your tranq gun. I don't know how much time we have. Connor!"

"What happened?"

"Wes called, I went."

"Where is he? Where's Buffy?"

Lorne walked into the lobby. "Well, what is all the…. Aah! Angelus! He's in the hotel."

"Gimme steel shackles." Gunn said.

"Oh, uh, but maybe we're already aware of that."

"All I had was rope in the truck."

Connor walked out to the balcony. "What's going on?"

"Get down here now. Leg irons too."

Connor hustled down the stairs. "She found him."

"Wesley and Buffy. Where are they?" Lorne asked.

"Get him downstairs." Gunn said.

"What happened to Buffy?" Connor asked.

Wesley walked through the front door carrying an unconscious Buffy in his arms. "She captured Angelus."

"God, what did he do to her?" Fred asked.

"Gunn?"

"We got it." Gunn said.

"She looks not well." Lorne said.

"Is she gonna be…." Connor started.

"Wake up, kid. I need you here." Gunn snapped.

"Help me with her." Wesley said to Lorne. He carried Buffy up to Angel's room with Fred and Lorne behind him. He laid Buffy's limp body down on the bed.

Lorne went to look at Buffy and saw her arm where it was discolored where she injected the drug into it. Taken aback, Lorne turned to look at Wesley, who just stared straight ahead at Buffy. Fred brought in a bowl of water and a towel and sat beside Buffy. She removed Buffy's bandage and saw the bloody gash left on Buffy's neck by Angelus.

"It's not her first time." Wesley said. "She let Angel drink from her before."

"What?" Fred asked.

"She did it to save his life."

While Fred cleaned Buffy's neck, Buffy twitched and mumbled, "Scratch you out…."

"She's not making any sense." Fred said.

Lorne walked up to Wesley and whispered, "And speaking of sense, have you gone on permanent sabbatical from yours? Tell me you did not shoot that girl full of junk, and then feed her to Angelus."

"It was her choice. Buffy knew the risks." Wesley said.

"She couldn't have! Wesley, I know what that drug does to people. Especially when they super-size the doses to make sure they really get the job done. And you damn well know it too."

Connor came into the room and stared at Buffy. Wesley sat down in the corner and held an ice pack to his bruised head. "What's going to happen to her?" He asked.

Fred crossed her arms. "Actually, I'd like to start with what exactly was it, Wesley?"

"Orpheus." Lorne said.

"Orpheus?" Connor asked.

"Some kind of opiate?" Fred asked.

Lorne nodded. "Mystical variety. Humans inject it. Vampires feed off the humans. Folks tried to deal it at Caritas…. only folks I ever banned from my club."

"So, if ordinary humans do this junk, Slayers are all super, right?"

"That's what makes it so dangerous. Orpheus isn't entirely physical. It's an enchanted drug."

"Magic." Connor shook his head. "I told her! This is what it gets you."

"That, plus the biting, makes for some serious psychic psychedelia. And the more you take, the deeper you sink."

"It leads you down to hell." Wesley said from the corner. "And leaves you there."

"Is she…. She's not…." Connor shook his head. "When is Willow getting here? Can she fix Buffy?"

"I don't know." Fred said. "I called her as soon as I talked to Buffy about Maury. She said she would leave right away."

"Can she fix her?!"

"I don't know, Connor." Lorne said. "We'll have to wait and see."

* * *

A ship pulled into the harbor, past the Statue of Liberty. There was a sign that read _United States Immigration, Ellis Island, N.Y. _Huddled masses of men, women, and children were pouring off the ship. A long-haired Angel walked through the crowd which parted for him, leaving him plenty of space. Except Angelus. He just stood there, facing Angel, not intending to move for him, but Angel walked right through him.

"Hey! What is that about?"

"You tell me. It's your flashback." Buffy stood behind Angelus and laughed at him. Angelus charged Buffy, but he went right through her. Buffy chuckled. "You know what the definition of insanity is, lover? Performing the same task over and over and expecting different results."

"All right, Miss Blow-It-All. This is my flashback. Why are you in it?"

"I don't know. It must be the magic side-effects of my incredibly simple ruse."

"All right. So, what is this, huh? Puff-the-Magic-Dragon City? Fairyland?"

"You'd think…. Me, I'm guessing it's more of an 'Angelus, this is your life,' type thing. Lack-of-hygiene world? It sure isn't mine."

"The whole way over here, he crouched in the filth of animals just to avoid human temptation. This isn't my life…. it's his!"

"Angel's?"

"It annoyed the crap out of me the first time around. This sucks. Why do you get to be Marley's ghost?"

"I guess cause I'm dying."

"Not soon enough."

"Look, the way I've got it figures, I've got one last job: baby-sit the psycho till they shove a soul up your…."

"Not gonna happen."

"Then, I'm whatever…. Hopefully this next funeral will be as nice as the last one."

"Thought those suicidal tendencies got squashed."

"I rolled the dice. Paid even odds."

Jazz music played and old-timey cars drove through the street. Angelus and Buffy found themselves outside the Blue Mood Lounge. A small group nearby was playing craps in the street. A couple walked down the sidewalk hand in hand.

"Early 20's by the cars." Angelus said. "What is this…. Chicago?" He saw Angel standing on the other side of the street. "Oh, no. I remember this. I remember this place. I gotta get out of here."

"Why?"

"It's coming." A car sped around the corner down the street in front of them. "Again."

"What's coming?"

"I can't do it again. I won't!"

Buffy heard the bark of a little dog and saw Angel run into the street right in front of the car. She started laughing. "The puppy!" Angel continued until he was completely across the street. He turned around to reveal that he was holding a tiny Pomeranian puppy.

"Gah!"

Buffy was still laughing as she said, "He rescued a puppy."

A woman came up to Angel and took the puppy out of his arms. "Oh, my stars! You saved her, Mister." Angel just stared at the woman, dumbfounded.

"I'm in hell. This is hell, and I'm in it." Angelus said.

"Oh, gee, big fella. How can I thank you?"

"We haven't fed on a human in decades. She's begging for it, you moron!"

"Get lost." Angel said.

"Beg pardon?" The woman asked.

"Take a hike, Betty. Scram."

"Well, pound snow, you mook!" The woman stormed back into the club.

"We're reliving Angel's good deeds…." Buffy managed through her laughter. "You are in hell!"

* * *

"There's only one thing we can do for Buffy, now." Wesley said. He,Fred, and Connor were at the front desk. "Finish what she started."

"You mean, re-ensoul Angel?" Fred asked. "I've been doing some research…."

"Why aren't we killing him!?" Connor burst out. "Angelus is all that's left. First he slaughtered Lilah, now he's killed Buffy."

"She's not dead yet."

"You're lying to yourselves. You all think that I'm taking this personally so that you don't have to, but inside you know I'm right. We need to put Angelus down. For Buffy's sake"

Willow entered the lobby through the front door, unnoticed by the gang at the front desk. "I don't think so. I think you need a witch." She said, walking up to the front desk. "Did I come at a bad time?"

"Willow." Wesley said.

"Hi Connor." When Connor didn't say anything, Willow nodded. "And the sneer's genetic. Who knew?"

"Hi Willow." Fred said.

"Hey Fred. It's good to see you. Oh, and it's the Marlboro Man. Or at least his extra stubbly, mentally unstable, insomniac, first cousin of…. for the love of Hecate, somebody stop me."

"It's ok. I'm a yammerer from way back." Fred looked at Wesley. "She has a fresh brain. I thought she might see some things we missed."

"Oh, hearing the thoroughness of your research methodology, I don't think that's possible."

"Aw. Go on."

"We should probably start the debriefing. Where's Buffy?"

"Unfortunately, the guy you're all trying to magically re-ensoul almost beat her to death and bit her. She's in a coma." Connor said. "Can you fix her?"

"Oh, Connor, I…. I don't mess with medical magicks."

"Why?"

"Because they're too dangerous. You never know what will happen."

"But she has a mystical drug in her. You can fix it."

"It's still medical magicks. I've only ever done it successfully once." Cordelia walked down the stairs and looked at Willow. The red head turned and smiled. "Hi there."

"Long time, no see."

"How've you been?"

"Higher power. You?"

"Ultimate evil. But I got better."

"You heard about Buffy?"

Willow glanced at Connor's angry face. "Yeah."

"What about Angelus? Did you go down to see him yet?"

"I'm way avoidy. Too many memories. I'm just glad I don't have to be in the same room with him when I re-ensoul him."

"Oh, you really think you can pull it off?"

"Putting his soul back? It's the first spell I ever learned. I'm not gonna forget that."

"What about the Muo-Ping?"

"The jar holding Angel's soul? Therein lies our boneage."

"Stolen right from our safe. And if we can't get the soul out of the jar, we can't put it back in Angel."

"Yeah, question is: how do we get the soul out if we don't know where the jar is?"

"And apparently, the thing's impervious to magic."

"Yeah, I know already tried a standard locator spell, but zero joy."

"Right. Plus, Wesley's shaman says there's no way to extract the soul from a distance."

"Soul trapped in a glass jar, impervious to magic. It is complicated."

"Tough nut to crack."

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

"I doubt it."

"We just break the jar."

"Break the jar?" Wesley asked.

"That way we don't have to magic the soul out. We just break the glass around it! Angel's soul is still released into the ether, and…. and there's something called Delothrian's Arrow. We don't even need to know where the target is!"

"I thought Delothrian's Arrow was used to protect good magicks."

"It is."

"So, how can you use it to break the jar? The Muo-Ping is a sacred object. It's holy."

"It's glass, therefore crunchable. The sacred's what's inside. 'All life a container….'"

"'….For the heart of all life.' You've studied the Daharim."

"It has to be something specific." Willow wrote down some ingredients and handed them to Fred. "Could you round these up for me? They're in the bag I brought."

"Sure." Fred turned and picked up the bag.

"There's lots of jars in the world…. can't shatter them all. I mean, you could, but good things come in jars. Peanut butter, jelly, those two-headed fetal pigs at the natural history museum." No one responded. "Come on, everybody loves fetal pigs."

"I do!" Fred said, still looking through Willow's bag.

"Sorry. I think my sense of humor's trapped in a jar somewhere." Wesley said.

"Does seem like you've given in to the grumpy side of the force." Willow said.

"You don't have any dagons root." Fred said.

"I don't?"

"We do. It's in the kitchen. Lorne says it's good with tea." Fred left the lobby.

"A lot's happened. Not just Angelus. I've been…. I've changed. I've seen a darkness in myself. I'm not sure you'd even begin to understand…."

"I flayed a guy alive and tried to destroy the world." Willow said.

"Oh. So…."

"Darkness. Been there."

"Yeah. Well, I never flayed…. I had a woman chained in a closet."

"Hey."

"That doesn't compare."

"No, dark. That's dark. You've been to a place."

"You seem exactly the same as when I left. No other major changes I'm not up on?"

"Just little things." Willow glanced towards where Fred left and lowered her voice so only Wesley could hear her. "So, uh, Fred. What's her story?"


	33. Chapter 33

Chapter 33

1970's disco music played as a long-haired Angel walked into a donut shop past Angelus. "Bring on the pain!" Angelus said as Angel sauntered up to the jukebox and selected a song. He stood there grooving as it started to play.

"Mandy, huh?" Buffy asked. Angelus sat down in a booth across from her. "It really must kill you that he's got a jones for the power-ballads."

Angelus swatted at something. "Worse were the concerts." A couple walked out past Angel, who looked at them longingly. "You know what that's like?" Angel sat at the counter. "Every time he gets close, I feel it. Wanting to tear their flesh apart. The hunger. It's like a blade in my gut."

"It's not your gut. Angel's the one that belongs on the outside, not you." Buffy watched the clerk pour Angel a cup of coffee as Angel tried to recover from his temptation.

"You think it's that cut and dry, don't you? That if Angel gets his soul back…."

"When he gets it."

"You'll just hang up your spurs and ride off into the sunset knowing you put the monster back in his cage again. But," Angelus disappeared and reappeared next to Buffy. "I'm always here, lover. Deep in."

A man walked into the shop and the cashier looked up. "Hi. Can I help you?"

"Gimme your money." The man shot into the ceiling. "Gimme the cash in the drawer."

"O…. Ok."

"Open it!"

"Oh, all right. I, uh…."

"Come on!"

"I, uh, I just need to…."

"Now!" The man shot the clerk, then ran out of the shop.

Angel went to the clerk's side. "It's gonna be ok. I'll get you to a hospital. You're…. you're gonna be ok. All right? It's…. everything's gonna be…."

"It hurts."

"Yeah, I know."

"Doc, I think we're losing him." Angelus mocked. "God, I love this episode!" He swatted the air again. "What is that buzzing?"

"God, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." The clerk died and Angel stood and backed away, staring at the clerk.

"So, who's your big hero now?"

"It wasn't even his fault." Buffy said. "Does he have to pay for everything?"

"Choices, little girl. The ones you make with your heart of hearts." Angelus gestured to Angel as he went to the door, but stopped and locked it. "Uh-oh. What's gonna happen?"

"He won't." Angel walked back to the clerk.

"I'm deep in, Buff. Soul or no soul." Angel vamped out and lifted the clerk.

Buffy looked away and sighed as she felt her neck start to bleed. "He was gonna save him."

"Or did he choose to be a little slow on the draw? Whoops! Dinner by armed robbery. Look at him, Buff. You know just how good that blurry line tastes. You didn't think my hell was private, did ya?" Angel screamed.

* * *

Fred walked around the lobby in a circle carrying a lit white candle and ringing a bell. Willow touched Fred's chin, lifting it higher. "You're good. Good bells." She walked up to the front desk where Gunn was standing. Cordelia had gone back up to her room and Connor had gone to be with Buffy. "Ok, now all I gotta do is contact the spirit world, harness the Delothrian ebb, and focus it through my little marble of doom here." She held out a small metal ball. "And we'll restore the Muo-Ping's entropic equilibrium."

"The jar goes smash?" Gunn asked.

"Smash-o-crash."

"All I need to know. I'll be downstairs in case the Prince of Darkness wakes up." Gunn left the room.

"You ready?" Wesley asked.

"Should be a snap." Suddenly a bolt of orange energy hit Willow and sent her sliding across the floor.

"Stay your hand, witch!" A voice boomed in her head. "You will not interfere with what must come to pass."

Willow stood and covered her head with her hands and weakly mumbled, "Invadoria disparu!"

"You think to banish me?"

"There's somebody in my head."

"As long as the soul is under my protection, it will never be freed."

"Vetsche invadoria disparu!"

"He's enormously powerful." Wesley said as Connor came down the stairs. "It's the dead Beast's master. He contacted Angelus the same way."

"He wants to stop us from getting the soul." Fred said.

Suddenly Willow went black-eyed, held her hand out and the marble in it floated and started to glow. "Open the window. Fill this stone. Inside, outside. Two made one." Willow was knocked down by another bolt of energy from the Beastmaster.

"Are you sure she can handle it?" Connor asked.

"Alesh ashtoreth!" The ground started shaking.

"I think she can hold her own." Wesley said.

* * *

Buffy found herself in a dark alley full of trash. Behind her Angelus said, "It'll all be worth it. Is that what you try to tell yourself? Is that the lie you try to tell yourself when you think of all the things you've done?" She turned to see Angelus stand without bending his body. "And now for a poem. 'Buffy goes gently into that good night.' You're fading fast, baby. I can feel it."

"All the same, I hear this holler in the distance. Tells me you're about to get what's coming to you."

"Or not. I've got friends in high places." Further down the alley, Angel stumbled around, knocking over garbage cans. "Him, not being one of 'em." Angel grabbed a rat and ate it.

"When is this?" She asked quietly.

"When isn't it? Twenty years after that stupid donut shop, and his fingers never smelled of anything but rat! 'I'm so sorry. I give up. I'm gonna live in a sewer!'"

"He's paying for what he did."

"He's hiding from what he is…. which may be a big Psych 101 revelation for you, cupcake, but I already know this crap, so why do I have to go through it again?"

"Maybe 'cause it's not about you," Angel said, standing up. "Jackass."

"Angel!" Buffy turned and looked at him.

"I don't believe this!" Angelus said. "You're the one behind this whole true-Hollywood sob-story?"

Angel walked up to Buffy and touched her hair gently. "Hey stranger."

"Hi." She looked up at him. "Hate the hair."

He smiled. "Why are you still here?"

"Just waiting to see this pervert get stuffed back into the deep, crazy ground he came from."

"Then what? After that, what happens?"

Angelus kicked Buffy, knocking her down. "Probably something like that. I had a feeling the rules have changed."

"She's not who you're after." Angel said.

"She's ALWAYS been the one I've been after. But right now, the Slayer will just be gravy once I finish you off."

"I've been waiting a long time for this." They both said and then launched themselves at each other.

"Buffy, get up!" Angel called. "Are you listening?"

"Angel, I'm dying." Buffy said.

"Yeah. It's a lot easier than redemption, huh?" Angel kicked Angelus.

Angelus grabbed Angel by the neck. "Always so concerned with the human condition." He threw Angel down the alley. "It's no big mystery, man. They suffer, they die. That's what they're there for."

"I'm not perfect, Buffy. Even with a soul, I've done things I wished a thousand times I could take back."

"Yeah, like those Manilow concerts. Son of a bitch!"

Angel landed near Buffy and he crawled over to her. "Buffy, come on, baby, wake up!"

"I've rolled the bones. You for me." She touched his face. "At least I get to say good-bye to you this time."

"I used to think that there'd be a point when I'd paid my dues…."

Angelus kicked Angel from behind. "Anybody notice a battle with your alter-ego going on here?"

Angel ignored Angelus and went back to Buffy, holding her in his arms. "Buffy, listen to me. You saw me drink. It doesn't get much lower than that. And I thought I could make up for it by disappearing. Our time is never up. We pay for everything."

"It hurts."

"I know. I know." He kissed her gently. "Get up, baby. You have to get up now. Buffy, you have to fight. I need you to fight. Do you understand what I'm saying?"

Angelus snuck up behind Angel and knocked him out with a metal pipe. "What won't I miss? The moralizing. Soul's already in the ether, boyo. I can smell it. How 'bout I send it off to that big puppy rescue in the sky."

Buffy was suddenly standing between Angel and Angelus. "Arf arf, psycho."

"Buff! Getting back into the game?"

"I guess I am."

Angelus swung the pipe at Buffy, but she disappeared. "Hey!"

* * *

Buffy shot up in Angel's bed and looked around for a second. She bolted out of the room and rushed downstairs. Connor was standing over Angel holding a stake poised to kill him.

"I'm pretty clear about what you need." He reared his hand back, but Buffy grabbed Connor's wrist, stopping him from staking Angel. Buffy threw Connor against the cage wall. He realized who had stopped him. "Buffy!"

Lorne ran into the basement, followed by Fred and Wesley. "She's alive. It's a miracle!"

Buffy pushed Connor out of the cage and against the wall outside it. "What are you doing!? That's your father."

"Cordelia said…." Connor started, then stopped himself.

"Cordelia, really?" Her gaze ticked past Connor to Angel, who was now standing up. "You hear that one?"

Connor glared at Angel. "Connor, it's over. It's me. Really."

Buffy walked up to Angel and helped him get the shackles off. "I'll bet ten to one you'll find a broken Muo-Ping in Cordy's room." She said to him quietly.

"What?" Angel asked.

"She hasn't been right since she came back. She's been working against us and trying to seduce Connor by telling him lies about us."

"We'll talk upstairs."

Buffy nodded. As soon as Angel was free of the shackles, he grabbed Buffy up to him and hugged her as tight as he could without hurting her battered body even further.

* * *

Buffy walked into Angel's room after discussing things with Willow about Sunnydale. Apparently things were getting hairy up there and she needed to head home ASAP. "Hey."

Angel looked at her. "How're you feeling?"

"Like I did mushrooms and got eaten by a bear."

"That about sums it up."

"Yep."

"And now you're going to Sunnydale."

"I think I prefer the bear. But that's where I'm needed."

"Never stop fighting."

"Hey, I was gonna, but someone got all pep-talky on me."

"Yeah." Angel took her hand. "I have a lot to thank you for."

"Well, that vice is plenty versa." Buffy sighed. "Do you believe me about Cordelia?"

"Yes, I do. I've noticed it too, among other things. I just ignored it because I was so happy she was back. I guess your Slayer senses wouldn't let you ignore it."

"What other things?"

"Things the Beastmaster said in my head. They sounded like Cordelia."

"What do you think happened to her?"

"I don't know, but I intend to find out."

"It has something to do with Connor. She's been after him specifically."

"You are taking him back to Sunnydale with you, right?"

"Of course."

"Good. He doesn't need to be around if he is who she's been after."

"I guess I should go."

"Buffy…." She turned and looked at him. "What we did…. I never got to tell you…. I loved it. It was wonderful."

"It was."

"It will be again one day. Lorne said you're the key to my redemption."

"One day, Angel. Just not this day. This day I'm leaving behind one apocalypse for another. Joy, joy!"

Angel smiled and walked over to her. He wrapped her in his arms and leaned down to kiss her gently. She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him back, deeply and passionately. "I love you, Buffy. Don't ever doubt that."

"I love you too, Angel. I always and forever will."

Buffy and Angel walked downstairs to see Connor sitting on a couch with Gunn standing in front of him with his arms crossed. "All right. I get it. I messed up." Connor said.

"Hey, cheer up, punk. That just makes you one of us." Buffy said.

"You headed out?" Gunn asked.

"Yeah, no tears, big guy." Buffy gave Gunn a high-five and he grabbed her hand and pulled her into a hug.

"Nah, I'm good."

"Wes."

"Buffy." Wesley said back.

"See. Brits know how to say goodbye. Angel was all for the hugging. It's been a good show."

"Yeah, sit back and let the girl do all the heavy lifting." Gunn said.

"That's pretty much it." Wesley said.

Fred walked out of the office with Willow, who was holding a book. "I think that volume's outdated. You'd know better than me, but there's some interesting stuff about Hellmouth. Might help."

"This is great." Willow said.

"I have to say, someday I'd love to bend your ear about the Pergamum Codex. I…. I think some of the really obscure passages are actually Latin translated from a demonic tongue, and they're kind of a hoot. All this stuff about Bacchanals and spells and…. actually, I think it's probably funnier in Latin. You know how that is sometimes."

"I'm seeing someone." Willow blurted.

"Time goes by, Will." Buffy said.

"Ok. Good. Wagons west. See you guys."

"Willow…." Angel started.

"He's going to tell you how much he owes you." Buffy said.

"Aw, don't mention it. I got my Slayer back plus Angel Jr., so we're even-steven." Willow hugged Angel. "I'll tell everyone you said hi."

"Good. Thanks."

Willow started to walk out, but stopped and turned back to them. "Oh, um, next time you guys resurrect Angelus, call me first, ok?"

Buffy looked up at Angel and then gestured to Connor with her eyes. Angel looked over at Connor standing by the settee holding his bag. "Connor, I…."

"It's cool." Connor said.

Angel shook his head and hugged his son. "I love you, son. Take care of yourself and Buffy in Sunnydale."

"Yeah. I will." Connor walked out, grabbing Buffy's bag on the way.

Angel turned back to Buffy. "Well…."

"Yeah."

"See you when I can."

"Good." Buffy smiled. "Don't be a stranger. Any of you. Anytime you want to play Apocalypse, Now with me, don't be afraid to come on up to Sunnydale. We've always got one right around the corner." She waved and followed Connor and Willow out to the car.


	34. Chapter 34

Chapter 34

Buffy was unpacking her bag in her room and examining her wall as she did. Spike had shoved his arms through it to get to Andrew, who was officially a hostage. While she had been gone, the house had been nearly destroyed by something trying to stop Buffy's mother from contacting Dawn. Willow had talked to Cassie pretending to be a messenger from Tara, but in actuality it had been the new big bad. Spike had turned people and Willow had dusted them with a new spell of hers to create fake sunlight when he had come to her for help since Buffy hadn't been there.

Anya had become a human again after taking back a wish she had granted. Dawn, Willow, and Anya had become obsessed with some high school boy that had worn a jacket with a spell on it. Willow had even tried turning the boy in a girl to fit her lesbianism. And then two nights ago, the house had been destroyed again by guys in robes with knives. They had attacked and kidnapped Spike. Willow said the robed men had no eyes, but instead had symbols carved there. Buffy had asked what they'd done with the bodies and Willow had told her they'd burned them, but they'd taken a Polaroid of one of the robed men. Buffy had pegged them Bringers because she had seen them before when Angel tried to kill himself four years ago at Christmas. The First was back and in a big way.

There was a knock on her door and she called for them to come in. Xander opened the door. "Hey Buff."

"Hey Xand." Buffy hugged her friend.

"Are you ok? You look…."

"Like I've been to hell and back?"

"Pretty much."

"That's probably cause I have."

"Are you doing ok? Willow told me about Angelus…."

"I'll live. It was…. Rough…. But I'll live."

"Good." Xander hugged Buffy tightly. "I don't know what I would've done if you hadn't of made it out of that coma. Which, by the way, you couldn't have picked a less lethal drug to experiment with? If you wanted to be a hippie…."

Buffy laughed. "I'll remember that next time."

"Did you really fight to the death with Angelus while you were tripping on that drug?"

"It wasn't really tripping…. I got dizzy and disoriented, but I injected so much, it just kind of made me go kaput!"

"I'm just glad you didn't kaput yourself right into heaven again."

Buffy got deadly serious. "I don't think there would've been a heaven for me. Angelus was planning to change me."

"Hey, let's exchange these thoughts of doom for some thoughts of doom, shall we? We've still got the First to research and deal with."

"Fun, fun, fun."

"Well, you've got research. I've got clean up and fix the window duty."

"I don't know if I'll even be able to read the pages. I'm still exhausted."

"Well, do what you used to in high school. Keep the book below you and sleep on your hand with your elbow propping you up. You got away with it a lot."

"Sounds like a plan."

* * *

Connor watched Xander sweep around the broken glass while he flipped through a book. Buffy sat next to him with her head propped up in her hand and her elbow resting on the table. She had a book on the table in front of her doing research and she flipped the page every now and then. Willow sat on Buffy's other side using her laptop computer. Anya and Dawn were on the couch in the living room looking through books.

"It's a loop." Xander said suddenly. "Like the Mummy Hand. I'm doomed to replace these windows for all eternity. You know, maybe we should just board these up until things are less Hellmouthy."

Anya held up a notebook she was reading. "Nothing…. and nothing." She held up two other books, one in each hand. "Cliff Notes to nothing. Nothing abridged…."

Willow looked up from her computer. "Yeah, my search isn't turning anything up either. Are you sure this thing called itself The First?" She asked Buffy.

"Pretty sure." Buffy said. "It claimed to be the original evil, the one that came before anything else."

"Please, how many times have I heard that line in my demon days?" Anya retorted. "'I'm so rotten, they don't even have a word for it. I'm bad. Baddy bad bad bad. Does it make you horny?'" Everyone stared at her. "Or terrified. Whatever."

"It wasn't a line. When I came up against this thing, I felt it. It was ancient and enormous. It nearly got Angel to kill himself. And if we don't rescue Spike soon, God only knows what the First'll get him to do."

Xander looked over at Andrew who was passed out and tied to a chair. "I wish Sleeping Ugly would come to. He's been out all night."

"Yes, he was just starting to squeal when the spooky SWAT attacked. Said The First was held up at the Seal of…. Danzar something?" Anya said.

Dawn stood and walked over to Andrew. "Hmm. Maybe he's just faking so he doesn't have to answer any more questions." She punched him in the face and stood back to observe. "Hmm. Or maybe he's in a fugue state." She reared back to punch him again, but Buffy interrupted.

"Dawn."

"What?"

"He'll come to when he comes to. Keep reading. If we're gonna rescue Spike, we need to figure out how to fight this thing."

Dawn pouted and went back to the couch. "Anya gets to hit him."

"Hey!" Willow cried. "Here, The First…. Bank of Delaware. Sorry."

"Hand me the Watchers' Codex again." Buffy held out her hand and someone handed her an old-looking book.

"Can I get you anything else, baby?" (Buffy recognized the voice and turned to look into the face of her beautiful, dead mother. "How 'bout some tea?"

"Mom?" Buffy sighed and closed her eyes. "You're not real."

Joyce bent to Buffy's eye level. "Ok, is that, uh, slang, like you're not for real, or….?"

"You're The First."

"Oh, baby, you're so tired, you're not making sense. Maybe you should get some sleep."

"No."

"You can't win against this thing. Not if you don't rest."

"Stop. Stop being like this. It's a lie."

"I don't want to scare you, but I want you to take care. You need to wake up."

"What?"

"You're dreaming." Connor said. "Buffy, wake up."

Buffy shook her head. "Hmm? Did you see it?"

"There's nothing to see. You were just doing a little dream talking, that's all."

"Oh."

"You ok?" Xander asked, walking over. "What'd you see?"

"Nothing. It was nothing." Buffy stood and walked into the kitchen. She sighed and stared out at the backyard. It was her mother's favorite place of the whole house. It was the reason she had bought the house.

"Are you ok?" Connor asked behind her.

Buffy didn't look away from the yard. "Yeah. Just a little shaken by my dream."

"What happened?"

"I saw my mother."

"How did she…. You told me she died, but you never told me what happened? Was it demons?"

"No." She got quiet for a long moment as she stared at the yard. Connor was about to say something to break the silence, but Buffy beat him to it. "It was normal. I couldn't fight it. It just…. Took her away."

"What was it?"

"An aneurysm. It burst in her brain and she just…. She just slipped away."

"What was my mother like?"

This time Buffy turned and looked at him. "Worse than Angelus, from what Angel told me and what I've read about her. She made Angelus."

"Why was I created by monsters?"

"You weren't. Your father is not a monster."

"But he has one inside him. For him to have done that with my mother…. Wouldn't he have had to have been evil himself?"

"No. He was just…. It was a very, very low and dark place for him at the time. He wasn't thinking."

"I'm a mistake?"

"Connor, no! Never think that. You were meant to be."

"Was I meant to meet you?"

"I don't know. I'm not really the prophecy girl. Giles would be the one you'd need to talk to."

"Your Watcher?" Buffy nodded. "Would he tell me?"

"Of course." She sighed. "Come on, let's get back in there and keep searching." Dawn and Anya were walking toward the kitchen, but Buffy and Connor came into the room, so they went to sit on the couch instead.

"Whoa, hey." Anya said.

"Hi." Dawn said. Buffy stared at them, but they avoided eye contact. "Nothing."

"What?" Buffy asked.

"Oh, um, I thought you were gonna ask us what we were doing."

"No, I was going to ask…."

Andrew coughed and Dawn shot up off the couch. "Oh! Look who's awake."

Anya followed Dawn. "Silly Andrew," She slapped his chin gently. "You drooled all over yourself."

"I'm…. I was about to be dead. Someone saved me." Andrew said.

Buffy stepped up between Dawn and Anya. "For the time being. But if you don't tell us what we need to know, then I'm gonna offer you to The First on a platter and let him chop you into tiny pieces."

"The first what?"

"The name of the evil thing that pretended to be Warren to get you to kill Jonathan." Anya said.

"Oh, not very ominous sounding."

"No, i-it is if you understand the context." Dawn said.

"No, an evil name should be like Lex or Voldemort or…."

"Hey, I was intimidating here." Buffy snapped.

"Oh, sorry. Um, go ahead."

"Forget it. Where's the seal?"

"You'll have to untie me. I don't remember where it's at. Warren led me there."

"But you can lead us to it?"

"Maybe." Buffy took a step closer. "Probably!"

"Good enough."

* * *

Buffy, Dawn, Connor, and Xander were following Andrew through the school basement. "It's around this corner, I think." Andrew said.

"You better be right this time." Buffy snapped.

"I told you…. I'm not sure." After another ten minutes of searching, Andrew finally lead them into a room with a huge seal in the floor.

"Maybe you should get sure. I'm sick of all the runaround with you…." Xander saw the seal of Danthazar and stopped dead. "Whoa. Check out the goat-heady badness."

"What's it do?" Buffy asked.

"I don't know." Andrew said. "Something not good. It didn't work 'cause…. there wasn't enough blood."

Connor investigated the wheel that was in the room. "There's blood on this. Lots."

"Looks like the first made another sacrifice." Dawn said. "Or a music video."

"The seal could've been activated. I bet that's what the First needed Spike for." Buffy said.

"That wasn't there before. I had nothing to do with that." Andrew said.

"Thanks for clearing that up 'cause otherwise we might've thought you were up to no good here at the satanic manhole cover." Xander said. "You killed your best friend!"

"He's in a place of joy and peace. He told me."

"No, nobody told you. You got tricked by a fake ghost."

"Boys, can we save the encounter session?" Buffy asked. "We need to cover this thing up." She grabbed nearby shovels and handed them out. "Whatever it does, we can't leave it exposed like this." They started shoveling dirt over the seal.

* * *

After covering up the seal, Xander and Andrew walked out of the Seal of Danthazar room and into the hallway, followed by Buffy and Dawn and then Connor.

"Man, this place gives me the creeps." Andrew said. "It's like in Wonder Woman, issue 297/299…."

"_Catacombs_." Xander said. "Yeah with the skeletons." "That was cool." He and Andrew intoned. Xander frowned and pushed Andrew. "Move it. This way."

"So what next? We found the seal, but no Spike." Dawn said.

"I don't know." Buffy said. "The First was camped underground last time I found him, but…."

Principal Wood passed them in the basement hallway, carrying a shovel, looking a little disheveled. "Buffy?"

"Hey." Buffy said, turning to face him.

"Hey. I…. thought that you were, um…."

"Sick?" Dawn broke in. "She was. Oh, vomiting and oozing from various places and…."

"Yeah, I remember, so please don't go on."

"Oh, but now, it's amazing. The doctor gave her some cream."

"Pills." Buffy said suddenly. Principal Wood looked back and forth between them. "And a cream. And I'm all better." She stared at Principal Wood's shovel.

"Oh, yeah, um, apparently somebody left this in the courtyard, and I was just returning it." He said.

"That's some full-service principaling."

"I try."

Buffy looked at her own shovel. "Oh, I was down here helping Dawn with a school project."

"For science." Dawn said.

"We buried a, um, uh, time capsule."

"Hello people of the future. Kids of today like Red Bull and, uh, Jackass."

"We better go." They turned to leave.

"Buffy?" Buffy turned back to face him. "You know if you are feeling better, I could really use you back at work. I've been wait listing kids who really want to see you."

"Oh, uh, yeah. Uh, I'm sorry, you know, I was just…. I've been ill and stuff."

"No, no, it's fine, and I understand. It's just things are starting to back up."

"Well I-I-I'll be there tomorrow. No problem. 100 ooze free."

"Good."

"Ok."

Buffy and Dawn walked away one direction and Principal Wood walked away in the other direction. Buffy turned to look at him quizzically, then turned back. Then, Connor noticed Principal Wood turn to look at Buffy, twirling his shovel as he walked away.


	35. Chapter 35

Chapter 35

Anya brought in a candle and set it on the dining room table in front of Willow. Willow struck a match to light the various candles in front of her. Dawn was at the other end of the table using Willow's laptop computer. Connor, Buffy, and Xander were standing at the end of the room, near the foyer, watching the goings on.

"How's it going?" Xander asked.

"Dawn's trying to find out anything she can about the Seal of Danzalthar." Buffy said. "Will's about to do a locator spell, see if we can find The First." She yawned and sighed.

"Why don't you go get some rest? You haven't slept for like days. We'll call you if we find anything."

"Nah, I-I couldn't sleep. Too much going on."

"It'll be ok, Buff. We've faced this kind of stuff before." Xander said as Willow poured a sandy mixture on the table in front of her.

"You didn't see The First. I did. I felt it. It was like…."

A magical explosion sent Anya back against the wall in the corner. The bowl in front of Willow glowed red suddenly and Dawn shrieked. She jumped back from the table, crawling away to hide. T he red light surrounded Willow then entered her body through her nose. She threw her head back and a demonic apparition, huge, with two horns on its head and glowy red eyes, escaped her mouth, lunging toward Buffy.

"Will!" Buffy cried.

The demon went back inside Willow and she stood, sending red lightning bolts from her mouth. The bolts were aimed at Buffy, knocking her down and sending her across the floor on her back into the foyer. Willow looked at her and growled in a deep possessed voice, "You only make me stronger!"

Xander grabbed the glowing bowl from the spell, and threw it against the dining room wall, shattering it. The light disappeared and Willow collapsed, crying and twitching. Connor went to help Buffy stand as Xander went to check on Anya. Buffy rushed over and kneeled at Willow's side, holding her head.

"Will!"

"It's still in me. I feel it!" Willow sobbed.

"No, it's not. It's gone. You're ok."

"I don't want to hurt anybody. Please, Buffy, don't let it make me. Oh, God!"

"We won't. I promise, ok? I promise. We won't use magic to fight this thing until we know what we're doing."

"I can't. I can't. I'm sorry."

Buffy looked up at Connor and he had Angel's told-you-so expression on his face. "It wasn't Willow's magick. It was the First."

"Sure." Connor said. "Whatever."

* * *

Willow stood off to the side of the room. Anya and Dawn sat on the couch and watched as Buffy got her coat on, ready to leave. Connor and Xander followed Buffy to the door.

"At least let me come with you." Connor said.

"I'm going alone." Buffy said.

"You said yourself, you don't know how to fight the First, or even where it is."

"It's out there. It's hurting my friends. I'll find it." Buffy opened the front door to leave, but Giles was standing there on her front porch when she opened it.

"Buffy."

"Giles!" Buffy went to hug Giles, but was cut off when three girls she'd never met walked right into her house.

The first one looked around the house and said in a Cockney British accent, "Nice place. Bit of a mess."

The second girl walked by Buffy and smiled, but said nothing. The third girl looked Buffy up and down and said, "This is a Slayer?" She looked away and sighed on her way inside the house. Buffy stared at the girls, then looked at Giles, confused.

"Sorry to barge in." He said. "We have a slight apocalypse."

* * *

Dawn stood in front of the three girls Giles had brought with him. The three girls were lined up against the wall with Dawn inspecting them, arms crossed in front of her. "They're all slayers?" She asked.

"Potential slayers." Giles said. "Waiting for one to be called. There were many more like them all over the world, but, um, now there's just a handful, and they're all on their way to Sunnydale."

"The others were murdered." Buffy said.

"In cold blood. As well as their Watchers. We always feared that this day would come, when there'd be an attack against not just an individual slayer, but against the whole line."

"The First. That's what it wants."

"Yes, to erase all the slayers in training and their watchers along with their methods."

"And then Faith, and then me. And with all the potentials gone and no way of making another, it's the end. No more Slayer. Ever."

"But we haven't found any information on The First." Willow said. "No documentation…."

"That's because it predates any written history, and it rarely shows its true face." Giles said. "The only record I know was in the Council Library."

"What about the Council? What do they say about this?" Anya asked.

"Gone."

"What?" Willow asked.

"Obliterated. They were in session, and, uh, there was an explosion."

"That means all the Council's records are-are destroyed?"

"Annabelle." The second girl unzipped her book bag, took two books and a stack of files from it, and laid them on the coffee table in front of Willow. "That's what's left." Willow, Anya, Dawn, and Buffy each take some of the new material. "The mystic secrets of the Watchers. And whatever I could find on The First. When I learned what was happening, I-I, um, I stole them."

"And you blew the Council up!" Anya said. "See, this is what happens when you're all stuffy and repressed. You overreact."

"No…. I didn't. Must've been an agent of The First, after my little burglary session. The knowledge contained in these files had to be protected, and there wasn't time for-for bureaucracy or debate. The Council knows no other way."

Andrew, still tied to a chair, let out a melodramatic observation. "And it cost them their lives!" Everyone turned and stared and he sat back. "Go on."

Buffy looked at Xander. "Can we gag him?" Xander clapped and went to Andrew, putting duct tape over his mouth. "But what do these records say about The First?"

"Uh, very little." Giles said. "It can change form. Uh, it only appears in the guise of someone who's passed away."

"Our ghosts." Willow said.

"Also it's not corporeal. It can't touch or fight on its own. It only works through those it manipulates. And its followers, the Bringers."

"Those freaks in the black robes." Kennedy said.

"Yeah, with the hoodies and the crazy alphabet eyes." Molly said. "I never saw 'em, I just heard…."

"Shh!" Annabelle hissed. "Molly, Mr. Giles doesn't need us prattling on."

Giles sat on arm of couch. "The First is unlike anything we've faced before. I mean, there's evil and then there's the thing that created evil, the source."

"And that's what this thing claims to be?" Buffy asked.

"That's what it is. It has eternities to act, endless resources. How to defeat it…. I-I….. honestly I don't know. But we have to find a way. If the Slayer line is eliminated, then the hell mouth has no guardian. The balance is destroyed. I'm afraid it falls to you, Buffy. Sorry. I mean, we'll do what we can, but you're the only one who has the strength to protect these girls, and the world, against what's coming."

"But no pressure." Xander said.

Kennedy walked to the center of the room, addressing everyone. "That's it? That's the plan? I don't see how one person, even a Slayer, could protect us. I saw what those bringer guys can do. They tore apart my watcher."

"Of course we'll use all our resources…. Giles started.

"And if this thing is the root of all evil, isn't the Hellmouth it's number one vacation spot? I mean, don't you think we should be hiding our asses on the other side of the globe?"

"Kennedy!" Annabelle cried.

"No, she's not wrong." Buffy said. "We need more muscle. We need to find Spike. And eventually we'll have to call Angel in on this."

"Yeah, Spike'll help." Anya said. "You know, if he's not crazy or off killing people or dead. Or, you know, all of the above."

Buffy stood up. "Well, I'm still going to go out there and try and find the First. Connor, I want you here. I'll need some supernatural muscle in case something tries to pay a visit."

"I can't go with you?" Connor asked.

"No."

"You want me to call dad and get him down here?"

Buffy thought for a minute, but decided against it. "He's got enough on his plate with Cordelia to deal with. He'll call when things are settled up there. And since we don't know when that will be, we'll need Spike. So, in my search for the First, hopefully I'll stumble on Spike's whereabouts." Buffy looked at Giles. "You, however, are coming with me. We need to talk more about the First and how I can kick its ass."

* * *

Buffy and Giles walked side by side down the main street of Sunnydale. They had been searching all night before Buffy had suggested they try the underground cavern where she had first seen the First.

"This place you originally saw The First," Giles said. "You say it was in a Christmas tree lot?"

"Under it." Buffy clarified. "There was a hidden cavern. Just happened to be under a tree lot. The Bringers were doing some kind of ritual." Buffy paused and then looked at Giles. "Giles, this is bad, isn't it? A new kind of bad."

"Just in time for Christmas."

"You know, I didn't even realize it was December. Maybe when we get home, we should decorate the rubble. Think you'll ever show up for a real visit? The kind where the world isn't about to end?"

"If we survive this, I promise."

"Good. Cause I miss you."

"I miss you too." Giles patted Buffy's shoulder and they walked on. "So, Connor…." Buffy chuckled. "He's Angel's son?"

"Yeah."

"And why is he here in Sunnydale?"

"It's a long…. _Long_ story. The nutshell version is he has some issues he needs to work out and he can't do that in LA, home of his issues."

"Issues with his father?"

"That's the iceberg." Buffy sighed. "He's getting better. He's still angry with the world, like any other teenager, but he also wants to know why he's here. He was hoping you would be able to tell him."

"If I have time, I'll certainly look into it for him."

"He's a good kid, he's just confused about a lot of things."

"And Angel?"

"Fully supportive father guy. I've spent the last couple of weeks in LA helping him out up there. Things got super-Apocalypse hairy up there."

"Is it over with?"

"Almost. The final showdown was up to Angel. I couldn't do anything and I had to get Connor out of there. Cordelia was after him…."

"Cordelia?"

"Turns out she's the big bad behind the whole thing up there. Don't know how that is, but I'm sure Angel will figure it out. I feel kind of guilty…. Like I'm abandoning him, but I had to come back here." Buffy and Giles walked into the empty Christmas tree lot. Lights were strung, but there were no trees there.

"So the entrance to the cave was above ground here?" Giles asked.

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure it was around here somewhere."

"Well, we'll just keep…." Giles was cut off by the crunch of breaking wood and then Buffy crying out. Giles turned to look, but Buffy was gone.

Her voice floated up to him from a hole in the ground. "Found it!" Buffy had fallen into a hole in the ground that was covered with wooden slats that apparently gave way.

Giles put his glasses on and bent to look into the hole. "Good lord, are you all right?"

Buffy looked around the cave and down at the rubble she had landed on top of. She stood and dusted herself off while talking to Giles above her. "Peachy, except my knees bend backwards now. Ok, Giles, stay up there. I'm gonna check it out."

Buffy walked around among the various cave formations. She looked up, she looked down, and then something passed behind her, unseen. She turned to look, but no one was behind her. When she turned back, a very ugly beastie hissed in her face. Buffy was startled and the thing took that opportunity to punch her so hard she flew across the room, landing against the wall and falling to the ground. It kicked and punched her with such force that her blocks were mostly ineffective.

She retreated, but it followed. Finally Buffy got some good offensive moves in, but it was able to avoid or block more than half of them. It punched her again, sending her rolling into another room. She got to her feet before the thing could get to her and readied herself with a stake. When it finally came close enough, she staked it right through the heart. It looked at the stake, growled, looked at Buffy, and took out the stake. Buffy's eyes grew wide as she stared in utter shock.

The thing punched Buffy and came after her with her own stake. Buffy avoided its attacks, but her back was literally against the wall. Her eyes were still wide as she watched it come after her. It punched her in the stomach and threw her against the wall. She threw a punch at it, but it caught her fist in its palm and squeezed until it made crunching sounds, then twisted her arm. It pulled her body by the arm until it slammed her head into a stalagmite, before finally grabbing her throat, squeezing, and lifting her off the ground. Buffy winced, the bite on her neck not completely healed, and looked around desperately until she found a stalactite. She broke the thing off of the cave ceiling and bashed the thing's head with it. It dropped her and fell to the ground.

While it was recovering, Buffy made a run for it. She climbed the cave walls toward the hole where she fell in. She was almost out, her hands were on the Christmas tree lot ground, when the thing grabbed her heel. Buffy struggled against it, trying to get out of the hole, but the thing pulled her back in. There was nothing on the ground for her to grab on to to resist. She kicked the thing in the head and tried again to crawl out of the hole. She barely got out of the hole and looked up at Giles, who was backlit by the rising sun, which he blocked. The thing started to crawl out of the hole, but saw the sunlight, and retreated back into it.

Giles grabbed Buffy's hand and pulled her out of the hole. Buffy laid on the dirt for a long moment, catching her bearings. She had already been sore from the bashings the Beast and then Angelus had given her, but now this thing comes along. It was almost as powerful as the Beast. At least her knuckles didn't feel like they were shattered like they had with the Beast.


	36. Chapter 36

Chapter 36

Buffy and Giles walked into the kitchen through the back door, only to see the three potentials already up and eating breakfast.

"Let's not tell the others just yet." Buffy was saying. "It'll give us a chance to…." She stopped when she saw the girls in the kitchen.

"Sorry about the British invasion." Kennedy said.

"We've been up for hours." Molly said as she buttered toast.

"4 P.M. London time." Annabelle clarified.

"Are you all right?" Kennedy asked. "You look…."

"Oh." Buffy shut the door. "Yeah, I'm ok. I just got into a fight is all." She looked at Giles. "You want to tell me with what?"

"Yes, Buffy, but don't you think we should, uh, discuss this privately?" Giles asked.

"You mean, not in front of the next generation? No time to coddle them, Giles. Welcome to the war room, guys." Buffy noticed Annabelle take out a notepad to take notes.

"Uh, what you fought was a vampire, but it was, um, something more than that. It was a Turok-Han. As Neanderthals are to human beings, the Turok-Han are to vampires. Primordial, ferociously powerful killing machines, as single-minded as animals. They are the vampires that vampires fear. An ancient and entirely different race and, until this morning, I thought they were a myth."

"So, The First shows up, and now this? You think it's a coincidence?"

"I think it's more likely that the Turok-Han is here as an agent of The First."

"Um, did you slay it?" Annabelle asked.

"No, it's still out there, somewhere."

"What's it want?" Molly asked.

"All of us dead. But for now it looks like sunlight is keeping this UberVamp away."

"So, until sunset, I suggest you get some rest." Giles said. "A few hours sleep will do a world of difference."

"No sleep today. Can't."

"Oh, come on, you're exhausted."

"Ah, it comes with the gig. Somehow I don't think taking on prehistoric evil comes with nap time. Sorry, potential guys. I know you came a long way, and you wanna get into it, but the best thing you can do right now is just sit tight, wait it out. I'm gonna go to work, see what I can find out. I'll be back before sunset."

"How do you plan to research something as ill-defined as The First?"

"I have the best plan ever."

* * *

Buffy sat at her desk, talking on the phone and using her computer. Beside her keyboard was a large gourmet coffee. She had a web browser up and was using a search engine. In the search field, she had typed _evil_.

"Yeah, well, I already re-checked the basement. Wait, you know, hold on, I'm gonna try something." Buffy typed on her keyboard. "Maybe The First isn't ready for modern technology. Displaying results 1 through 10 of 900,517. Ok, I gotta narrow this down. I'll call you back? Yeah." Buffy hung up then typed manifestations of evil in the search field.

Principal Wood walked up to her cubicle wall without her noticing and read from her computer screen. "Manifestations of evil?" Buffy typed more in the search field and Wood read what she was typing. "In…. the…. movies. You're searching for evil movies?"

"Uh, I know it's not the all-time most kosher use of my office hours, um, but, you know, looking at some down time. And what can I say, I just love those evil, evil movies. Like Exorcist, you know, Blair Witch…."

"Hmm. As opposed to Rob Schneider's Oeuvre."

"Different kind of evil."

"Yeah. Buffy, you know, I'm not that big a fan of scary movies, even the hokie ones. Sometimes they go to a place that I think kids could stand to avoid." He sat in the chair in front of her desk and crossed his arms.

"Well, it's not for the kids."

"Yeah, yeah, I'm only saying that once you see true evil, it can have some serious after burn, and then you can't unsee what you saw. Ever. That's just one opinion. I better get back to work." He stood and walked out of her cubicle.

"What kind of movies do you like?"

"Oh, me? Mysteries. I love finding out what's underneath it all at the very end." He walked away.

Buffy lifted an eyebrow and shook her head at the creepiness that was Principal Wood. On a whim, Buffy picked up her phone and dialed the Hyperion's number. Nobody picked up and it went to the answering machine. "Hey Angel, it's Buffy. I just wanted to let you know everything's ok down here. The First is back in town in a big way and we've got our hands full, but we'll be ok. Connor says hey. He's helping out where he can and now he's in a house full of women that will keep multiplying as the days go by. There's an attack on the Slayer line by the First and it's taking out potential Slayers before hitting Faith and then me. I was wondering, if you have time, if you could check on Faith and let me know if she's ok. Let her know to keep a look out for guys in robes with no eyes. They're called Bringers. I guess I'll talk to you later. I hope everything's ok down there. Oh, and hi to everyone else. Gunn, Fred, Wesley, Lorne…. Cordelia if she's not evil anymore. Bye Angel. " She hung up and went back to searching.

* * *

The school bell rang. Buffy was washing her face in the sink. She touched a sore spot on her face, then went to inspect her arms as well. She unzipped the arm of her blazer to reveal scrapes and bruises that rivaled what she had had with the Beast. Suddenly, Joyce's loving touch, and her concerned voice spoke and Buffy was in her bathroom at home.

"Buffy, what happened?" Joyce asked.

"Uh, oh, it's ok, Mom."

"I tried to warn you, but…. right. The last thing you need now is one of helpful Mom's guilt trips. I'll get you some ice."

"No. Mom, I-I can't."

"Buffy, you have to heal."

"I don't have time."

"Are you worried about the sun going down? Because there's some things you can't control. The sun always goes down, the sun always comes up."

"Everyone's counting on me."

"Well, they do that, and I'm sorry, Buffy, but these-these friends of you put too much pressure on you. They always have."

"Something evil is coming."

"Buffy, evil isn't coming, it's already here. Evil is always here. Don't you know? It's everywhere."

"And I have to stop it."

"How are you gonna do that?"

"I-I don't know yet, but…."

"Buffy, no matter what your friends expect of you, evil is a part of us. All of us. It's natural. And no one can stop that. No one can stop nature, not even…."

The school bell rang and Buffy snapped awake at her desk. There was a student sitting in the chair in front of her desk. "Oh, um, I'm sorry. What were we talking about?"

"Only my life. You're just like all the others."

"No. No, no, no. I'm different. I'm hip. I relate to the young people." The kid stood up to leave. "No, don't go, uh, uh…."

"Roger."

"Roger. See? I knew that!" Roger left and Buffy sighed. She hung her head in her hands.

* * *

Connor and Willow were getting weapons from the weapons chest. Giles was pacing. Xander was finishing up working on the living room window with Dawn's help. The Potentials were sitting on the couch.

"This day's almost over." Giles said, looking at watch. "And the sun will go down in 17 minutes."

"Hey, junior slayers, don't look so worried." Xander said. "I mean, sure, we don't know where Spike is, or how to fight The First, or if and when the super style vampire is gonna attack us all. However, house…."Xander tapped his hammer on the boarded up windows. "Boarded up. Now all we gotta do is trap this UberVamp in a pantry, and it's game over."

"Xander, newbies." Willow warned. "Let's ease them in to the whole jokes in the face of death thing."

"Who's joking? That pantry thing could work. Are you saying M. Night Shamalayan lied to us?"

"You'll be ok." Buffy said to the potentials.

"Ok, or even better. It's like our guarantee." Willow said. She turned to Buffy and said quietly, "Um, Buffy, I just, I want you to know that I'm really sorry for letting you down. You know, here before with the magic going all aah and me going all eeee and everything getting all rrrr. I wish I could help out."

"No one expects you to make everything right."

"So, I can't do everything, but I should at least be able to do something. I have so much power, but when I try to use it…."

"Don't, ok?"

"Ok. But, you need help, Buffy. I know you, and I know you'll never admit it, but you need help."

"I'll be ok. Ok, or better. It's like my guarantee."

Kennedy stood and walked up to Buffy and Willow. "Hey, are we getting weapons? Trained fighters? Patton is coming? I've heard worse ideas."

"We'll be armed when the Slayer feels we're ready." Annabelle said.

"I feel ready." Molly said.

"You're frightened. You must learn to control your fear."

"Hey, you know what would help with that? Weapons."

"Uh, I don't know about that…." Buffy started.

"We're sitting ducks without them."

"We're with the Slayer. Safe as houses." Annabelle insisted.

"Do you see the house we're in?"

"It'll come straight for us, won't it?"

"We should load them up, Giles." Buffy said finally.

Buffy and Xander walked into the dining room where Andrew was still tied to a chair. He looked at them pitifully and said, "Listen to me, man, I've got a bad feeling about this."

"Of course you've got a bad feeling, dude. You're-you're tied to a chair." Xander said,

"No. Yeah, but above and beyond that. I'm telling you that my spider-sense is tingling. This is gonna get hairy. I'm talking weird with a beard. Better untie me."

"And that'll help us, how?"

"Ok, I know what you're thinking. Andrew, bad guy. You think I'm a super-villain like Dr. Doom or Apocalypse or-or The Riddler. But I admit I went over to the dark side, but just to pick up a few things, a-and now I'm back. I've learned. I'm good again."

"And when were you good before?"

Buffy and Xander walked out as Andrew said behind them, "Ok, technically, never. Touché. But I'm like Vader in the last 5 minutes of Jedi with redemptive powers minus a redemptive struggle of epic redemption which chronicles…." He stopped struggling and sighed. "These ropes itch."

Buffy was looking out the window in the kitchen when Giles walked in. She turned to him as he walked up to her. "How're we doing on time?"

"Sunset should be any minute now. Done everything we can. And don't worry, everyone here understands that you're calling the shots." Giles said.

"I just hope I'm calling the right ones."

"You have all my faith. And they're depending on you."

"Giles, that's not exactly what I needed to hear right now."

Molly entered the room and interrupted them. "Guys? Annabelle split."

Connor walked in behind Molly and looked at Buffy. Buffy thought for a minute and then nodded. She walked into the living room with Molly, Connor, and Giles behind her. "Will, Xander, I want you with Giles. Take downtown and near the Bronze. Connor, I want you here to guard Dawn, Molly, and Kennedy." He started to protest. "You're the only one that can take this thing on. If it comes here…."

"I'll kill it." Connor said.

"It's strong."

"So am I."

Buffy nodded and grabbed her coat.

* * *

Buffy had found her way to the industrial manufacturing complex. She walked past a dumpster and saw Annabelle's body lying still on the ground. As she took a moment to contemplate the situation, the UberVamp attacked her from behind, knocking her to the ground. Buffy crawled away to crouch beside the dumpster. She looked at the UberVamp and then got up to fight with it. She kicked, it ducked. She punched, it blocked. It punched her in the face, then in the stomach, and Buffy fell to the ground face first. It picked her up and tried to choke her, but she spit blood in its face, startling it. Buffy managed to escape its clutches. She ran away, hiding in the nearby factory. The UberVamp licked the blood off of its face, growled, and headed after Buffy.

Buffy ran into the factory and looked around for somewhere to hide. She wasn't making a fast flight since she was limping. She had been beaten by the Beast only days before and then Angelus and then by this thing early this morning. Her body was tired and aching and she knew she was in trouble. She ran deeper into the building, which was very industrial in nature with vertical metal pipes and valves. The UberVamp had followed her to the building and was looking for her. She surprised it by coming from behind it and smacking it in the head with a large metal pipe, but she didn't even manage to knock him down. They fought mercilessly and it wrestled the pipe from her hand when she swung it at the thing again. It threw the pipe to the ground and they returned kicks and punches.

It punched her and she bent over at the waist. It kicked her in the chest, sending her crashing into a metal support beam. The UberVamp came at her again, and she dropped to the ground to avoid its fist. She stood painfully and it punched and kicked her, finally causing her to double over in pain as it punched her ribs. It punched her in the head, sending her to the ground again. It picked her up, backhanded her in the face, then punched her so hard, she flew 25 feet across the room.

It ran toward her, but she looked around and noticed a pulley hoisting a pallet of metal beams. Buffy kicked a control lever for the pulley, sending the beams crashing on top of the UberVamp as it came towards her. Still lying on the ground, Buffy hid her face as they landed. She got up and ran away slowly, still limping, but stopped and turned around. Her eyes widened as she saw the UberVamp rising from the pile of metal beams, unhurt. It leapt out of the rubble and sprinted after her.

In no time at all, it had caught up to her, grabbing her from behind and throwing her into a concrete wall. She stepped back, still standing, as the UberVamp literally crawled up the wall to gain momentum and height to kick her in the face, knocking Buffy to the ground. Then it kicked her in the head again before grabbing her arm and throwing Buffy through a concrete block wall. The wall crumbled down on top of her, the roof caved in, and then there was only blackness.

* * *

"Buffy!" Xander called. He lifted off part of the metal roof that had fallen on top of Buffy, revealing her body lying there still on the ground in a pile of rubble, her face covered in blood. Xander was flanked by Willow and Giles. "Oh, God almighty." They all stared at Buffy's beaten body.

* * *

Buffy was curled up in a chair in her room, listening to the others talk downstairs. She was beaten up quite badly, her face bloody and bruised. She stared straight ahead as she listened and tried not to think about how much her body hurt.

"We could make plans as we always do, but the truth is, Buffy was our plan." Giles said. "There is no back up."

"Giles, she looks bad." Willow said.

"She does. I'm afraid there may be internal bleeding."

"What does that mean? Will she…."

"Die? I don't think so. I don't know."

"What do we do if she can't fight, if she can't beat this thing?" Connor asked.

"We're back at square one."

"Which square would that be, exactly?" Xander asked.

"I'm not sure. The First predates everything we've ever known, or can know. It's everywhere. It's pure. I don't know if we can fight it."

Buffy walked in, and everyone turned to look, unaware that she had been listening. "You're right." She said. "We don't know how to fight it. We don't know when it'll come. We can't run, can't hide, can't pretend it's not the end, cause it is. Something's always been there to try and destroy the world. We've beaten them back, but we're not dealing with them anymore. We're dealing with the reason they exist. Evil. The strongest. The First."

"Buffy, I…. I-I know you're tired."

"I'm beyond tired. I'm beyond scared. I'm standing on the mouth of hell, and it is gonna swallow me whole. And it'll choke on me. We're not ready? They're not ready. They think we're gonna wait for the end to come, like we always do. I'm done waiting. They want an apocalypse? Oh, we'll give 'em one. Anyone else who wants to run, do it now. Cause we just became an army. We just declared war. From now on, we won't just face our worst fears, we will seek them out. We will find them, and cut out their hearts one by one, until The First shows itself for what it really is. And I'll kill it myself. There is only one thing on this earth more powerful than evil, and that's us. Any questions?"


	37. Chapter 37

Chapter 37

Buffy walked in the front door with Rona, the latest potential to hit Sunnydale. She had rescued her at the bus station where a welcoming committee of Bringers had met Rona. "You guys are all still up?" Buffy asked.

"Ah! Who needs sleep?" Xander said.

"Everybody, this is Rona."

"Hi. Hi, Rona." Everyone said.

"Um…." Rona looked at Buffy. Why is that guy tied to a chair?"

"The question you'll soon be asking is, 'Why isn't he gagged?'" Xander said with a smirk.

Anya entered the room with a rolled up sleeping bag, and Giles followed her in saying, "Molly, why don't you show our new houseguest where the kitchen is. I'm sure she's hungry after her travels."

Molly held up a bag of potato chips. "Fair enough. I'm a bit peckish meself."

"Bit what as well?" Rona asked Anya as she followed Molly.

"That's English for hungry." Anya said as she unrolled the sleeping bag and arranged it on the floor.

"Oh, here I thought hungry was English for hungry."

"Everything all right?" Giles asked Buffy.

"She had a welcoming committee." Buffy said.

"So, The First knows potential Slayers are making their way here?" Xander asked.

"I must warn the coven to be cautious." Giles said.

Buffy shook her head. "The First's always gonna be one step ahead of us, Giles. I need to know how to stop it. No, not stop it, hurt it. I want to hurt it real bad. Tell me how."

"I…. I don't know, Buffy. I've exhausted all the sources I have left with little result. The Watcher's records are still really all we have to go on."

"I made the rounds myself." Anya said. "Tried to dig up anything useful from the demon community."

"They're a community now?" Xander asked. "What's next, the Ladies' Auxiliary?"

"The ones that didn't attack me, didn't know anything or didn't talk. Either way, we've got squat."

"Well, squat's not gonna cut it." Buffy said. "What about the Turok-Han?"

"The vampire time forgot?" Xander asked.

"Time may have forgotten him, but I sure won't. We know stakes don't kill it, but anything in those ancient books about what does? Sunlight, fire, germs?"

"So, Giles, with that thing guarding the entrance to The First's crib, how will Buffy get to Spike?" Andrew called from the dining room.

"I really hate to admit this, but he's not wrong. There's no way we'll be able to help Spike until that thing is out of the way. "

"Spike?" A blonde potential asked. "Sorry, I'm confused. He's that vampire who's been killing people, right? He's the one you're worried about helping?"

"Well, we need him to…. he's the one that's been…. it's complicated, Chloe."

"I'm Chloe, she's Eve." The real Chloe said.

"It's just, well, we've been talking, and do we have some kind of plan?" Eve asked. "You know, any kind of plan to keep us from dying?"

"We're working on it." Buffy said.

"There is one avenue that we haven't tried yet…." Giles said.

"Giles!" Anya protested.

"Beljoxa's Eye."

"And exactly what part of town is that avenue in?" Xander asked.

"I told you no." Anya said to Giles.

"Wh-what is Botox's eye?" Buffy asked.

"Beljoxa's Eye. It's an oracle type creature that exists in a dark dimension." Giles said.

"Internal vortex more like." Anya grumped.

"Fun." Buffy said.

"Not really, no."

"The point is, only demons can open the gateway to it." Giles said.

"Excuse me, ex-demon here."

"You still have friends in the fold. Murderous acquaintances, anyway."

"Look, there's no reason to think this Beljoxa's Eye will have any of the answers we're looking for."

"I'll take anything I can get." Buffy said. "Anya, please, we're running out of time. Spike's running out of time."

Anya sighed. "Fine. But if I get killed, I'll make sure I become a poltergeist to make yours and Giles' lives hell."

"Ok, deal. Has anybody seen Connor?"

"He's up in your room on his cot asleep." Dawn said, walking in from the kitchen. "Angel called."

"Oh. Thanks." Buffy headed up the stairs and into her room. Connor was curled up, dead asleep, on his cot. He had moved in to Buffy's room to get away from all the girls that were starting to sleep in his room. Buffy decided not to wake him and went over to the phone. She took it off the cradle and went into the bathroom, locking the door.

Angel picked up on the fourth ring. "Is everything ok?" He asked.

"How'd you know it was me?"

"Intuition."

"Good one. Yeah, everything's peachy. How about up there?"

"Cordelia's disappeared. We've been searching for her for days, but it's like she's dropped off the face of the Earth."

"We haven't heard a peep from her down here. Then again, not many peeps can be heard over the roaring of the First lately."

"Any luck with that?"

"The only luck with that would be the fact that I'm not dead or a vegetable from that beating I took a few days ago."

"Willow said you were hurt pretty badly."

"I think I'd prefer fighting the Beast than this thing. I shoved a stake in its heart and it didn't turn to dust. I threw everything I have at it and it still kicked my ass into the next generation."

"You'll beat it Buffy."

"I didn't beat the Beast. Angelus did."

"He had the advantage. You didn't." She sighed heavily and covered her eyes for a moment. "Is Connor ok?"

"A little edgy cause of all the girls in the house, but other than that…."

"Why edgy?"

"They've all hit on him at one point or another except Kennedy…. She seems to be taken with Willow. And he's not used to all that attention from girls. He's a lot like his father in that way."

"I liked your attention."

"Again I say, he's a lot like his father in that way."

"Maybe he'll fall for one of the potentials and you can be free to do what you want."

"You wanted to say who."

"I did, but…."

"We can't. I know. I remember. Still fresh in my mind."

Angel sighed. "Hey, I talked to Faith. She said all's quiet there and she'd call if anything happened. I doubt a guy in a robe with symbols carved into his skin where his eyes should be would be able to get past the security in that place. It's pretty tight. Besides, they have those knives and that wouldn't go over well with the guards."

"At least she's safe there. Which is more than I can say for us here."

"You'll be ok. I have faith in you." Angel paused. "No pun."

"Well, if things get worse, we may have to find a way to get Faith out of jail."

"I'll come down there as soon as we get Cordy back."

"Thank you. We're going to need all the super-muscle we can get. Besides, you've had more interaction with this thing than we have."

"Not by choice."

"I know." Buffy yawned.

"How much sleep have you gotten since you've been back there?"

"Not a lot." She confessed.

"You barely had any while you were down here. Get some sleep, Buffy."

"Sounds like a plan to me." She sighed. "It's, what? Three in the morning? I'll get about two hours if I'm lucky. Some of the girls are still on their local time, so there's someone up around the clock."

"You're babbling. Go to sleep, Buffy. I'll talk to you later."

"Bye, Angel."

"Bye, Buffy."

Buffy hung up and went into her room. She curled up on top of the covers and went to sleep.

* * *

Xander squatted next to Andrew's chair, untying him. "Ow! Watch it! That's my joystick hand."

Xander rolled eyes. "I'm not gonna touch that one."

Buffy stood on the other side of Andrew, with her arms crossed. "Ok, listen up, Andrew. I don't exactly know what to do with you, except that we don't have time to babysit a hostage."

"Especially a hostage that's gotten more than a little ripe."

Buffy made a face and stepped back a few feet away from Andrew. "So, I'm here to tell you, if you try anything, try to run…. Did you ever see the movie Misery?"

"Six times. But the book was scarier than the movie 'cause instead of crushing his foot with a sledge hammer, Kathy Bates chops it off with…." Andrew stopped rambling when he saw Buffy glaring at him and swallowed hard. "I'll be good."

Willow came in from the kitchen with Connor in tow eating a bowl of Corn Pops. "Buffy, word from the underground. Another potential arrived in town the day before yesterday. She's at the Sun Spot Motel, near the highway."

"The day before yesterday? Why are we just finding out about it now?" Xander asked.

"Bringers killed her Watcher before he could tell anyone he sent her. If it wasn't for a particularly powerful seer in the coven, we wouldn't even know about it now."

"Ok, I mean, there's still a couple of hours of daylight left. You guys should be safe here. I'll get her and bring her back."

"I'll go with you." Connor followed Buffy out the door.

"All right, retrieving a potential. Let's do it!" Andrew said, but he stopped when Buffy turned and glared at him. "Or I could just go wash up."

* * *

Buffy and Connor walked up to Room 25. "You sure this is it?" Connor asked.

"The clerk said it's the only check-in they've had in a week. Tourism must be down." Buffy said. She knocked on the door. "Hello!" She knocked again. "It's ok. We're friendly. And we have eyes."

Connor peered in through the window and then looked at Buffy. "Kick the door down."

Buffy kicked the door in and entered, followed by Connor. They saw a girl lying on the floor, face down in a pool of blood. Buffy knelt to touch her and looked back up at Connor. "She's cold. Been dead for days."

"Poor girl." Connor said. "She made it all the way to Sunnydale just to get herself killed." Buffy rolled the girl over. "If only we…."

"Eve?" Buffy moved so Connor could see the girl's face.

"Eve, who's in our house?"

Buffy and Connor stared at the dead girl, wide-eyed and incredulous. Then in a sudden burst of energy from both of them, they took off at a run back to Buffy's house. Buffy walked in the front door in a huff first and looked around just as Connor burst in behind her. Willow and Dawn were at the dining room table.

"Buffy!" Willow said startled.

"What is it?" Dawn asked.

Buffy looked at Andrew who was on her couch. She glared at him and he sat up and wiped off the part of the couch his feet were on. Buffy just rolled her eyes and went into the next room. Connor, Xander, Willow, Dawn, and Andrew followed. Buffy rushed down the stairs to the basement.

"Get away from them." She snapped to "Eve."

Kennedy looked up from reading a book. "Who? Get away from who?"

"Eve" turned to look at Buffy. "What's the problem, officer?"

"I said get away from them now." Buffy growled through gritted teeth.

"Buffy, what did Eve do?" Dawn asked.

"That's not Eve." Connor said.

"Eve's dead." Buffy clarified.

Rona held up her hands in confusion. "I don't…. I don't understand." All the girls stood and backed away from "Eve".

"Eve" stood and faced Buffy. "Oops! One more down. Oh, well, can't save 'em all, can ya, Buffy?" She turned to face the slayers-in-training. "Thanks for the slumber party, girls. It's been real fun the last couple of nights. I learned a whole lot…."

"Shut up, and get out!" Buffy yelled.

"Or you'll do what? I'll be sending a guest over to visit y'all later on tonight, after the sun goes down of course. Try and make him feel welcome before he rips y'all to pieces. Bye." Eve disappeared in a flash of light, like a television being turned off.

"I need to go wash up again." Andrew ran back up the stairs.

"Everybody upstairs." Buffy said quietly. "Now." The tone of her voice had everyone rushing up the stairs.


	38. Chapter 38

Chapter 38

The potentials were sitting around the dining room table. Buffy stood at the head of the table and Willow sat at the end opposite her. Connor and Xander leaned against the wall near the door to the kitchen. Dawn was seated at the table near Buffy.

"We should run." Vi said.

"And go where, Vi?" Kennedy asked.

"Annabelle ran. Look where it got her." Dawn reminded them.

"Safer in than out." Buffy said.

"How can you say that?" Molly asked. "It was here, Buffy, in the house, living with us for days."

"And you didn't even know it." Chloe said.

"Well, none of us knew it." Xander said.

"It could still be here." Vi said. "It could be any one of us."

"No, The First can only take the form of dead people." Willow said.

"Yeah, well there'll be plenty more of those soon enough." Rona snapped. "We're dropping like flies here." All the girls started talking over one another.

"Hey!" Buffy yelled. The girls stopped talking. "Look, I know you're all scared. You know what? I am too, but Giles and Anya will be back soon, and hopefully they will have the information that we need to stop The First. In the mean time, we need to stick together. Ok, we're stronger that way. We cannot afford to fall apart now."

Andrew stepped up to the table. "She's right. Where would the Justice League have been if they hadn't put their differences aside to stop the Imperium and his shape-shifting alien horde?"

"Don't help me."

"Buff, the sun goes down, and UberVamp's on its way." Xander said. "So a plan'd be good right about now."

"Will, I'm sorry to ask, but…."

"I know, we need a barrier." Willow said.

"A major one. Something tells me this vampire doesn't need an invite to get into the house. Can you do it?"

"I'll try."

"Try?" Rona asked.

"You heard her." Kennedy said.

"Buff, are you sure about Willow doing the hocus pocus again?" Xander asked. "I…. I mean, last time she…."

"Xander, we don't have a lot of choices." Buffy said.

"And what if that doesn't work? What if that monster gets through?" Chloe asked.

"Then we'll deal."

"Deal?" Rona asked. "Fight, you mean. How are we supposed to do that?"

"And with what?" Vi interjected.

"With whatever it takes!" Kennedy snapped, then looked at Buffy. "Right?"

"Buffy, you fought the Turok-Han, and it almost killed you." Molly said.

"And you're the real slayer." Chloe added.

"Wh-what chance do we have?" Rona asked.

"Honestly, you staked that thing, and it didn't die." Molly said.

"No, but that doesn't…." Dawn started.

"Maybe it can't be killed."

Buffy stared straight ahead, tuning the girls out. She looked at Willow and caught her eyes. "_Willow, can you hear me?_" She thought.

"_Yeah._" Willow thought back.

"_We're losing them. We can't let that happen. I have an idea. Grab Xander and Connor._" Buffy walked into the kitchen.

Willow stood up to follow her and walked past Xander and Connor. "_Xander. Connor._"

Both of them jumped and stared at Willow."What!?" Both of the cried.

"I said…." Kennedy started.

"I just thought it bared repeating." Xander grabbed Connor's arm and pulled him into the kitchen after Buffy and Willow.

"_I gotta slay the NeanderVamp to get Spike outta that cave, but I need those girls to see me do it._" Buffy thought.

"What's going on?" Connor asked.

"_Don't talk out loud, Connor. Just project your thoughts towards everyone in the kitchen._" Willow thought. She looked at Buffy. "_I get it, but this isn't the best venue for a smackdown._"

"_I know just the place._" Xander thought.

"_Where?_"

"_The future home of the Sunnydale Library. It's got a big open space and an area where everyone can get up at a safe height and watch._"

* * *

Outside, Bringers were encircling Buffy's house. Dawn peered out between the cracks of the boarded up window and Molly and Chloe were on the couch beside her, also looking out.

"There's more of them now." Dawn announced.

Xander walked into the room. "And two more out back."

"Why aren't they doing anything, attacking?" Molly asked.

"They don't want in." Buffy said. "They're here to make sure we don't get out. Rona." She held up a sword.

Rona went to Buffy and took the sword. "Like this'll do any good. I mean, what's the point?"

Kennedy pointed to the tip of Rona's sword. "It's this end right here. Just stick that in the bad guys. Any more questions?" She went to the weapons chest and took out a crossbow. "This'll do me."

"Are you sure you know how to use it?" Buffy asked.

Kennedy practiced loading and shooting the unloaded weapon. "Since I was eight." Buffy handed her a quiver of arrows.

"Can I have something?" Andrew asked. Buffy glared at him. "Come on, the Turok-Han's coming for me too, you know. I have a right to defend myself…." Buffy raised her eyebrows. "If you say so." She sighed and looked into the weapons chest. She grabbed a glass bottle of holy water and handed it to Andrew. He took it and held it close to his chest like a treasure.

"Guys? Something's happening." Dawn said.

Rona looked out and saw the Turok-Han approaching the house. "Oh, my God!"

"Here it comes." Buffy said as the Turok-Han walked towards Buffy's front door, growling.

Everyone gathered around Willow as the Turok-Han beat on the door, trying to enter the house. "_Caerimonia Minerva, saepio, saepire, saepsi._" Willow intoned.

"Um, deflector shields! Deflector shields up!" Andrew cried.

"Willow…." Buffy said. The Turok-Han finally broke the door down and Willow finished the spell as her eyes went black.

"_Saepio impedimentum!_" A barrier went up, keeping the Turok-Han at bay.

"It's working." Chloe said.

"For the moment." Vi said.

"Will…." Buffy started.

"It's…. it's strong." Willow struggled.

"It's hurting her." Kennedy said.

"Hang on, Willow." Buffy said.

Willow shook her head. "I don't know."

"She can't hold it." Dawn cried.

"What do we do? What do we do?" Rona panicked.

"Run. Everybody run." Buffy ordered. As the Turok-Han continued to try to penetrate the barrier, everyone ran out the back door of the house except for Buffy, Connor, and Willow who stayed to the very last possible moment.

Xander lead everyone outside, going after the Bringers with a battle axe in his hands. Kennedy used her crossbow to take out a few of the Bringers herself. Hand-to-hand combat ensued as Xander fought a Bringer, but the Bringer overpowered him and took the battle-axe away from him. Just as the Bringer was about to slice and dice Xander, Buffy stabbed the Bringer from behind just as the barrier inside the house fell, and the Turok-Han ran outside after them.

"Come on!" Buffy yelled. Buffy and Xander ran off after the others. They ran up the street, all at full speed. After a long few minutes, they stopped for air.

Xander looked behind them. "Ok, no Bringers following. I guess they'll save us for old snaggletooth."

"Where is the Turok-Han?" Connor asked.

"Right behind us. Time to split up." Buffy said.

"Split up?" Molly asked. "We're splittin' up? Is that wise?"

"Willow, take everyone and find a safe location."

"I know a place." Xander said.

"What are you gonna do?" Dawn asked.

"Gonna try to slow the Turok down." Buffy said. "Lead him away from you guys. Get him to chase me."

"Buffy, you can't take that thing on yourself."

"I'll stay." Kennedy said.

"No!" Buffy took the bottle of holy water from Andrew.

"H-hey, I need that!" Andrew cried.

"Willow, Xander, Connor, take everyone to a safe location. Get 'em out of here. Now!" Everyone but Buffy and Dawn followed Willow.

Xander touched Dawn's arm. "Have to go, Dawnie."

Dawn grudgingly went with Xander. Buffy faced the Turok-Han, who was now on the street facing her as in a standoff. Buffy took a running leap towards it, kicking it in the chest. It didn't even move, but Buffy fell to the ground. As the Turok-Han came closer to her, Buffy took the bottle of holy water out of her pocket. When the Turok-Han was within arms reach, Buffy smashed the bottle in its face, causing it to roar and retreat.

Buffy stood, but it grabbed her by the throat and shoved her into a car window, shattering it. The holy water burned the Turok-Han's face, but didn't appear to have slowed it down any. Buffy ran away, expecting the Turok-Han to give chase, which it did for a moment before stopping. Buffy turned around to see if it was still behind her, but it was gone.

"Showtime." Buffy muttered.

* * *

Xander climbed down scaffolding, still carrying his battle-axe as he called, "Come on, people, we gotta move."

"I'm moving." Andrew whined. "Climbing's not my thing. I got an inner ear condition."

"Is falling your thing?" Connor asked, having already beat everyone to the bottom. "Cause if you don't pick up the pace, I'm gonna come up there and drop your ass."

"Way to keep up morale in a crisis." Andrew jumped to the ground. "No wonder Buffy's the leader."

"Some leader." Rona muttered.

"This is crazy." Chloe said.

"You got that right. What are we doing down here?"

"Quieter. Faster." Xander said.

As they followed Xander through the open area, Molly asked, "Where are we?"

"Future site of the new public library, opening up May 2003. If I ever get back to work, that is."

"You call this a safe location?" Rona asked.

"It's the middle of nothing." Vi agreed.

"This'll do." Willow said. "Ok everyone. Spread out, take positions." Everyone spread out except Andrew.

He stood alone in the middle of the open area. "Um, what's my position?"

"And don't make a sound."

"That's the plan?" Rona asked. "Spread out? That thing is gonna kill Buffy, and then it's gonna come after us. For all we know, it's killing her right now."

"Or, it could just skip that part and come straight here." Kennedy said. Everyone turned to follow her gaze and saw the Turok-Han had found them. The Turok-Han walked menacingly toward them. Kennedy loaded her crossbow and prepared to fight. The others walked up behind her.

"Oh no no no no…." Chloe said.

Suddenly, the flood lights came on and everyone turned to look. Buffy was standing there, arms crossed, on a ledge overlooking the open area.

"Buffy?" Dawn asked.

"What's she doing?" Rona asked.

Kennedy aimed her crossbow at the Turok-Han, but Willow waved her off. "Just watch. It's show time." Willow lead the group away from the open area. They climbed the scaffolding and watched. Connor hesitated for a moment, before climbing up the scaffolding like Buffy had asked. Andrew looked on eagerly, hanging on the outside of the bars.

"Looks good, doesn't it?" Buffy said to the Turok-Han. "They're trapped in here. Terrified. Meat for the beast, and there's nothing they can do but wait." She did a forward somersault down into the open area. "That's all they've been doing for days." She walked towards the Turok-Han. "Waiting to be picked off. Having nightmares about monsters that can't be killed. But I don't believe in that. I always find a way. I'm the thing that monsters have nightmares about. And right now, you and me are gonna show 'em why. It's time. Welcome to Thunderdome."

"Two men enter. One man leaves." Andrew intoned.

The Turok-Han went for Buffy. She was able to hold her own against it for a moment, but soon she was being beaten back. The onlookers grimaced as the Turok-Han dealt harsh blows to Buffy. Connor almost jumped out to help her, but Xander and Willow held him back. Buffy managed to get in an offensive move here and there, punching and kicking it between its own moves.

Dawn looked at Willow. "This…. you planned this. Letting the barrier fail, bringing us here, you and Buffy."

The Turok-Han punched Buffy to the ground, but she got back up to fight more. It threw her about 20 feet away and she landed on the scaffolds, knocking the crossbow out of Kennedy's hands. Buffy picked up the weapon and aimed it at the Turok-Han and fired as it ran towards her, hitting it right in the heart. It only paused for a moment, then came at her again.

Buffy grabbed a nearby pipe from the scaffolding and used it as a staff. She then used it to propel herself away from the fight, but the Turok-Han was right behind her. She grabbed a pickaxe and swung it at the Turok-Han, but it ducked and pushed her into the wall of the construction office trailer. Buffy fell to the ground and the Turok-Han disarmed her before throwing her back toward the center of the open area. It punched her again and again. She fell into a pile of cinder blocks, but picked one up to throw at the Turok-Han. It crushed the block before she could throw it. It punched her again and kicked her under some scaffolding before throwing her a dozen feet into the air, through the scaffold platform. Buffy managed to stay on the platform, and the Turok-Han scaled the scaffolding to get to her. It grabbed her by the throat, lifting her off the ground and choking her as she struggled against him.

"It's killing her." Rona cried.

"We have to do something." Molly said.

"Wait!" Willow called.

Buffy reached down, grabbed the arrow in the Turok-Han's chest, pulled it out, and jabbed its eye. It roared and dropped Buffy. While it was dealing with its injury, Buffy started punching it, and kicked it to the ground, where it landed in a pile of cinder blocks and boards. Weakly, it tried to punch her back, but she kept punching and kicking it until finally she could bang its head into the metal scaffolding. Buffy grabbed some nearby barbed wire and slipped it around the Turok-Han's throat. It fell to the ground and Buffy pulled on the wire hard enough to sever its head. The Turok-Han exploded in a cloud of dust in front of her.

"See? Dust." Buffy said, turning to look up at the girls. "Just like the rest of 'em. I don't know what's coming next, but I do know it's gonna be just like this. Hard. Painful. But in the end it's gonna be us. If we all do our parts, believe it, we'll be the ones left standing. Here endeth the lesson." Buffy walked away as the potentials watched her. Kennedy smiled as the other girls looked at each other. They all followed Buffy out of the construction site.

* * *

Still shackled to the rocky cave wall, Spike saw someone walking toward him. "A knife, now, is it?" He asked. A white-shirted, cut and bruised Buffy stood before him holding a Bringer's knife in her hand. "What'll….what'll that…. You…. you can't hurt me. You're…. you're just a bloody figment, you are. You're just…." Buffy approached him slowly and cut him loose of his tethers. He collapsed forward and braced himself with his hand on her shoulder. When he touched her and realized she was real, he smiled and squinted, searching her face intently. She looked into his eyes. "You. Oh." He put his arm over her shoulder, and she put her arm around his waist. Although Spike was weak and limping, they walked out of the cave together. 


	39. Chapter 39

Chapter 39

Rona and Vi walked through the cemetery nervously, holding stakes at the ready and being as quiet as they could be. Something behind them stepped on a branch and made a cracking sound and the girls turned to look. It was Spike in vamp face. He punched Rona to the ground. Vi tried to stake him, but Spike caught her hand and grabbed her, twisting her arm behind her back. He put his arm around her throat, growled and went to bite her neck. Vi screamed and Spike stopped before biting her, looking up and letting his vamp face fade away. Vi squeaked with fright. Still holding her, Spike looked up at Buffy, Molly, and Kennedy.

"Ok, these two are dead. Why?" Spike asked.

Rona stood up and dusted herself off. "Cause the black chick always gets it first?"

"What was that, Rona?" Buffy asked.

"I'm dead because he's a vampire. I don't have Slayer strength, Slayer speed…. i…. it wasn't a fair fight."

Spike still held his arm to Vi's neck and asked, "Vi, do you think I care about a fair fight?"

"No, no sir." Vi said. "You don't play by the rules, and I have learned a valuable lesson of some sort. Ow!"

"Ok, Spike." Buffy said. He let Vi go and she walked up to Molly and Kennedy. "You're right. You don't have Slayer strength. But that doesn't mean that you're not strong. You have inherent abilities that others do not have."

"Not like you do." Molly said.

"No, not yet, but it's there. You have the potential. You have strength, speed, instinct. You just have to learn to trust yourself. Rona, what did your instincts tell you to do just then?"

"Block his attack, keep him off balance, gain the advantage…."

"No, they didn't."

"They told me to run."

"Vi?"

"They told me to run." Vi looked at Spike. "They're still sort of telling me to run."

"Don't fight on his terms. Your gut's telling you to run, run. Ok? Regain the higher ground. Make the fight your own. Spike, what did your instincts tell you to do just then?"

"Hunt. Kill."

Buffy walked out in front of the girls. "Come at me," Spike raised his eyebrows and smiled a little. "Full speed. He needs to kill to live. That tells you everything you need to know." Spike growled and lunged at Buffy. She ducked and he ended up lunging face-first into a headstone. He fell to the ground, lying flat on his back, and Buffy straddled him, holding one hand to his throat and pointing a stake above his heart with the other. "Instinct. Understand his, but trust yours. You were chosen for a reason." Spike groaned softly and Buffy looked down at him. "Are you ok?" She let go of his throat.

"I'm…. fine. Couple of ribs ain't quite set right since…. I'm fine."

"Lemme see." Buffy lifted up his shirt a little to inspect his ribs.

"No, it's just…."

"Spike." Buffy gently touched his skin.

He reached for her hand and held it. "I'm gonna be ok."

"That's hot." Rona said.

"So, we're supposed to, like, make out with them or something?" Molly asked.

"Careful, Buffy." Vi said. "Just when you think it's part of the lesson, he'll hurt your arm."

Buffy pulled away from Spike suddenly as if she had been burned by him. She stood up and looked at the girls as Spike got to his feet. "Molly, Kennedy, let's go. You're up. Next lesson."

* * *

"It was about Angel, wasn't it?" Spike asked as they walked back home. The girls were ahead of them a few feet talking amongst themselves.

"What?" Buffy asked.

"Back there…. When you pulled away. It was about Angel, wasn't it?"

"Why would you say that?"

"You still…. Smell…. Like him." Buffy looked away. "Did I miss something? Are you and Angel…."

"No! We're…. Not. It's…."

"Complicated. Isn't it always?"

"I was going to say confusing, but ok."

"You've got his kid, you're doing the whole custody thing…."

"What custody thing?"

"He gets his week, you get yours."

"No. Well, sort of, but not like you think. Connor's got issues. He needs my help. There's really not much Angel can do since it's him that Connor's got his issues with. The only thing Angel can really do is try and I'll do the rest."

"The boy's got a crush on you."

"We've established that. And he knows I don't like him like that."

"Because you like his father like that. Good one."

"No…. Spike, stop."

Spike shrugged. "I'm always gonna be jealous, pet. Fact of our lives. Another fact? I'll never be him. No matter what I do for you, it'll always be him you want. So, why bother with me?"

Buffy shook her head and walked away from Spike.

* * *

Buffy, carrying a battle-axe, was pacing back and forth disapprovingly in front of the girls while they chattered on. Rona and Kennedy were talking and Molly and Vi were talking. Dawn was sitting on the stairs, watching them through the stair rail. Connor leaned against the railing of the stairs on the bottom of them, watching everything.

"No way. One armed pushups are bull." Rona said.

"I can do 'em." Kennedy said. "I can do the kinda way you clap between."

"I'm more of a chin up kinda girl. I can do chin-ups 'til the cows come home."

"You're saying demon, and I don't mean to…." Vi stopped. "Oh, bananas! Imagine yourself covered in human viscera..." Molly and Vi giggled and squealed as they continued talking.

Buffy stopped pacing and hurled the battle-axe at the bull's-eye target hung on the wall. The axe point landed in the center, a perfect bull's-eye. Everyone stopped talking and looked at her, a little frightened. She glared at them sternly. "You're all gonna die. But you knew that already. Cause that's the cool reward for being human. Big dessert at the end of the meal. Don't kid yourselves, you guys. This whole thing is all about death. You think you're different cause you might be the next Slayer? Death is what a Slayer breathes, what a Slayer dreams about when she sleeps. Death is what a Slayer lives. My death could make you the next Slayer." She walked back to retrieve her axe from the target. "Oh, goody. Rapt attention. I love that so much. Now, where was I? Ah." She set down the axe and walked back to the front. "If we go with what Anya's resources are telling us, then The First is in remission for a while, which we think means advantage us."

"Well, what does that mean? About The First?" Rona asked.

"As best we can tell, he…. or precisely it…. was putting a lot of stock in that UberVamp thing, the Chaka Khan. So when I kicked its ass, the whole Firsty circus decided to back off for a while. Good news? Means we probably don't have to worry about it pulling Spike's strings for a while. Here's the half-empty. Time away means time to regroup. And part of that regrouping is coming back stronger than ever. The odds are against us. Time is against us. And some of us will die in this battle. Decide now that it's not going to be you. I know you're all tired, far away from home, anxious. But you're all special. Most people in this world have no idea why they're here or what they want to do. You do. You have a mission, a reason for being here. You're not here by chance. You're here because you are the Chosen Ones." Buffy turned and walked upstairs, commenting on the way up, "Dawn, you better hurry up and eat something so you're not late for school."

Connor followed Buffy up. "So, what now?"

"I'm going to work for a few hours."

"What do I do?"

"Chill, I guess."

"I don't want to chill. Can't I come with you?"

"Why, Connor?"

He looked around to make sure no one could hear him and then lowered his voice. "There are too many girls here."

Buffy laughed. "I'm a girl."

"But you're not just any girl. You're Buffy. You don't…. You don't stare at me with this weird, dazed expression. It just creeps me out when they do that."

Buffy smiled. "Hide out in my room. It's what you've been doing. Call your dad. See what's up with him. It's been a few days since I've talked to him."

"I tried calling already, there's no answer."

She shrugged. "He'll call us then. I've got to go. Dawn!"

* * *

Buffy come home through the front door only to find Vi and Rona in a loud discussion with Xander. Andrew was also in the room. Xander appeared to be chastising the girls and gesturing emphatically to the destruction that surrounded him. The cushions and chairs were on the floor, furniture was broken, even the pictures on the walls were crooked.

"There might be an appropriate place to do that, like maybe outside." Xander said.

"Why do we always have to yell?" Andrew yelled.

Buffy crossed her arms and scowled. "I was only gone a couple of hours."

Willow walked in from the dining room. "Buffy?"

Buffy cocked her head and smirked at the arguers. "Oh, look everybody. It's Willow. Perhaps with a blunt weapon of some sort."

"Buffy, we just got news." Willow turned back to the dining room and Buffy followed. Connor came down the stairs and followed them in there. Anya was sitting at the table and looked up as Xander walked in. "Althenea from the coven called."

"And?"

"There's another potential."

"Where?"

"Here?"

"Here?"

"Sunnydale here."

"And she's sure?"

"Positive. Althenea said the seers located another potential slayer here in Sunnydale. Someone that already lives here."

"Oh, God…."

"All these girls flocking to town, and this one's already here and under our noses?" Anya asked.

"Wait, the seers couldn't find out her name or, like, her address or anything?" Xander asked. "Am I getting the definition of _seer_ wrong?"

"I was gonna take the girls out tonight, a little show and tell, but maybe now I shouldn't." Buffy said.

"They were so excited." Andrew said. "You're gonna break their little hearts."

"This town is lousy with Bringers. I don't want to risk that they find this new girl first."

"No, you should go." Willow said. "I can do a spell to find her tonight. I just have to get together a few ingredients. But you-you shouldn't skip your training, it's too important."

"You think you can handle it?"

"No problemo." Xander said.

"Yeah, and you guys have more important things to do." Dawn said.

"Ok, I'll take 'em." Buffy said.

"Yes!" Andrew cried.

"Andrew, you're not going." Andrew grunted softly as his expression deflated into a pout. Buffy turned to Connor. "You, however, are coming."

"Seriously?" Connor asked.

"You need to learn this as much as they do."

"All right. Cool."

* * *

Buffy walked into the kitchen, followed by Andrew. "I'm not begging." He whined.

"You're like a small dog dancing for Snausages." Buffy said.

"You don't want me coming along 'cause you think I'm evil."

"He doesn't seem evil, exactly." Vi said.

"He's not evil, but when he gets close to it, he picks up its flavor like a mushroom or something." Buffy said.

"But I'm reformed." Andrew said. "I'm like Vegeta on Dragonball Z. I used to be a pure Sayan, and now I fight for the side of Goku."

"Still not coming."

"It's not fair. Spike just killed people, and he gets to go."

"Spike didn't have free will and you did."

"I hate my free will."

Spike walked into the kitchen. "This is where you're all hiding. You ready to go, or what?"

"Let's go, girls." Buffy said. "Grab your weapons." Rona, Vi, Kennedy and Molly each grabbed a weapon and followed Buffy and Spike out of the house. Connor waited for them by the door.

"All right." Rona said. "Let's do it. I don't know about you guys, but I'm ready to kick some serious vampire butt!"


	40. Chapter 40

Chapter 40

Buffy and Spike lad the potentials and Connor into the demon bar, Willy's Alibi. The place was dimly lit and filled with disgusting-looking patrons that could never be mistaken for humans. As they walked in, some of the patrons turned to look at them as the young girls gawked at what they saw. Connor looked around disdainfully at the demons and they looked away from him, sensing his power and unconsciously knowing that he was Angelus' son.

"This is a bar." Rona said.

"Best damn field trip I ever took." Kennedy said.

"Look, they're all…." Molly started.

"They're demons!" Molly finished. "It's a demon bar. It's like a gay bar, only with demons."

One of the patrons at the bar stood and greeted Spike. In appearance, the demon was reminiscent of a walrus with smaller teeth and long droopy warts dangling from its face. "Spike! Long time. Nice of you to bring snacks."

"Thouch them, and lose your privates." Spike said.

"I didn't like him." Vi said.

"Nice job of blending in, girls."

"We're a bunch of 15 year olds in a demon bar. How much blending did you think we were gonna do?" Rona asked.

"Look, it's ok." Buffy said. "Ususally you come to a place like this, you wanna be seen. You wanna scare someone, or make contact…."

"Or have a strong drink?" Molly asked.

"Not usually that."

"You don't drink?" Kennedy asked.

"Sure I do. I mean, no. That would be wrong."

"Do they card?" Vi asked.

"Nope, go ahead." The girls walked up to the bar. "Down all the yak urine shots or pigs blood spritzers you like." Spike smirked and Connor made a disgusted face.

"Gross." The girls backed away from the bar.

"Got that right." Spike said. "Prices they charge, you could get human blood straight from the body." Molly stared at him. "Vampire…."

"Look, if I come here, it's cause I gotta wring some information out of something large, scary, and drunk with a room full of friends who don't care much for the Slayer." Buffy said. "Remember that. Not a being in here wouldn't be glad to rip your throat out."

Clem walked up to Buffy while she was talking to the girls. "Buffy? Girl, how ya been?"

"Clem! You look great, so toned." Buffy hugged Clem.

"He's ripping out her throat right now." Kennedy muttered.

"Oh, my God! It is so good to see you! I saw this great show on the History Channel the other night that I knew you would love, and then something went all flooey with my TiVo." He looked over at Connor. "He looks familiar. Do I know him?"

"Did you know Angel?"

"Angel? Heard of him. He was your beau back in the day, right?"

"Yeah. This is his son Connor."

"Connor! Oh, there was some buzz about you when you were born! Grew up fast, didn't you?"

"I was raised in Quar-Toth." Connor said.

"Yeah, we heard about that. Some of us were sorry it happened to you. Well, you look like you turned out pretty good."

Connor eyed Clem for a minute and then nodded. Buffy took Clem's arm and led him a little ways away. "You know what? Can I talk to you for a second over here?"

"You think she dated him too?" Kennedy murmured to Rona. Connor glared at her.

Buffy and Clem rejoined the group. "Ok, everyone. These are the girls."

"Howdy." Clem said. "So, you girls are gonna deal with demons, huh? Just lemme tell you this." Clem leaned in as if to whisper something to them, and the girls crowded around, following suit and leaning in. Then Clem's face exploded outwards with writhing snake-like tentacles and his ears spun around. The girls screamed and jumped back with fright.

"I could use a shot of that yak urine right about now." Vi said.

Buffy laughed. "Come on."

"Where to now?" Kennedy asked. "A demon strip club?"

"No."

"Although, if you're looking there's one down by the docks…."

"Spike!" He smiled mischievously at Buffy. "We're going patrolling."

* * *

Holding up a flashlight and looking around, Buffy and Spike led Connor and the potentials inside a crypt. "A vampire is an animal." Buffy said. "Sometimes they run in packs, sometimes alone. Who can tell us where we are?"

"It's a nest." Connor said.

"How can you tell?" Buffy handed her flashlight to Spike.

"Only a vamp could live like this." Kennedy said.

"Some, yeah." Spike said. "As a group, we're not known for our tasteful decor, but in all fairness to the race, this place is seriously lacking in style."

"Thank you, Spike." Buffy said.

"I'm merely saying…."

"He has a point. Vampires can live anywhere. Any way they want. Taste, fashions, living conditions…. they can vary. The animal inside, always the same." Spike looked at Buffy and frowned.

"Where'd you live?" Molly asked Spike.

"What, you mean before?" Spike asked. Molly nodded. "A crypt actually, but nicer. A bit more…. I don't know if posh is the right word, but it was more like…."

"Comfy." Buffy interjected.

"Excuse me? When did you find it comfy?" Kennedy asked.

"Moving on. You want to stay alive, you have to spot and identify a nest on site. Look around, all of you. Look for signs that just last night maybe a dozen, two dozen vampires were right where we're standing. Go ahead." The girls reluctantly broke up and started looking around the crypt. Connor stayed put next to Buffy. He found this lesson redundant because he knew all of this stuff. Holtz had taught him.

"Work, work, work." Spike said to Buffy. "This little excursion was just in danger of being interesting."

"You know what, Spike…." Buffy looked over to see the girls had gathered around, inspecting something on the floor. "Interesting is not a problem."

"Buffy, I think we found something." Rona said.

"It's a body." Molly cleared up.

Buffy walked over and knelt to take a look. She pulled on its shoulder and then let it go. "It's not a body. It's leftovers." The body started to move then growled as it looked back over its shoulder at Buffy. It was a vampire now. Buffy backed away and the girls cleared for her, heading for the other side of the crypt. She whipped out a stake. "No one's safe. Not here, not ever. See this guy?"

"B-but he was dead a minute ago." Kennedy said.

"That was a minute ago. Now…." She punched him in the face.

"Hey!" It protested.

"He's the enemy." The vampire lunged at Buffy. She sidestepped and the vamp rolled across the floor. She walked slowly after him, still with a stake in her hand, talking to the girls. "You can't think too much. Reacting's better. Could be the difference between staying alive and that other thing." Buffy punched the vampire and dropped the stake on the floor. They fought in a vicious hand-to-hand. Connor wanted to go to Buffy's aid and join the fight, but Spike held him back. Buffy punched the vamp and he landed on his back on a stone sarcophagus. He tried to kick Buffy, but she grabbed his foot and punched him in the face. Then she pushed his leg, flipping him over and off the sarcophagus. "The question is never what do you think, it's always what do you know? You gotta know it. If you don't, if you make one mistake, it takes just one vampire to kill you. So you've got to know you can take him. Know your environment. Know what's around you, and know how to use it. In the hands of a Slayer, everything is a potential weapon. If you know how to see it."Buffy grabbed her stake from the floor as the vampire leapt toward her, kicking at her face. She ducked, then defended against his fists as he came at her. Finally, Buffy grabbed him by his shoulders and threw him to the back of the crypt as she stood near the doorway. "When you're fighting, you have to know yourself, your brain, your body. Know how to stay calm, centered. Every move is important, every blow's got to be part of your plan 'cause you make that one mistake, and it's over. You're not the Slayer. You're not a potential. You're dead. What do you know? Right now, the only thing you know for sure is you got me."

Buffy dropped the stake and walked out of the crypt, pulling Connor with her. She and Spike closed the doors, shutting the potentials inside with the vampire. Buffy turned around to be greeted by a huffing Xander.

"Xander!?"

"Dawn…. Trouble…. School…. Vampire…. Potential…." Xander breathed.

"Connor…."

"I'll make sure they don't die." Connor said. "Go, save Dawn."

Buffy and Spike took off. Xander groaned and ran after them. As they neared the school, Buffy and Spike slowed down and waited for Xander to catch up. He led them into the school to find Dawn.

"Buffy, up here." Xander called.

Buffy and Spike followed Xander up the stairs toward Dawn and Amanda. As the Bringers came toward Amanda, she used the flagpole as a staff, knocking them down and defending herself quite well. Dawn managed to stay out of the way and avoid the crossfire. As Amanda knocked the Bringers down, Buffy and Spike went after them on the stairs.

Buffy stabbed a Bringer with his own knife and then handed it to Spike. "Here!"

Spike stabbed another Bringer with the knife Buffy gave him. The vampire that attacked Dawn and Amanda in the classroom was there now too, fighting Amanda. She defended herself admirably with the flagpole before ultimately pinning the vampire against the wall and staking him with it. Buffy walked upstairs to the last Bringer that was still alive and broke his neck.

Amanda turned to her, confused and perturbed. "Ok. One minute I'm in Swing Choir, and the next…. What the hell's going on? You tell me to come to you with problems. Turns out, a vampire attacked me. Problem. So I go to your house, and when I get there, this orange cloud hits me."

"She was at the doorway." Buffy heard Dawn say to Xander.

"And I don't know if you're into the drugs, but that's not my deal, all right. That cloud hit me, and I got a little dizzy and discombobulated."

"It was Willow's spell. She's the potential Slayer."

* * *

Connor heard whooping in the crypt and opened the doors. The girls were jumping up and down and squealing over a pile of dust.

"We did it!" Kennedy said.

Rona looked out, but her face fell. "Where's Buffy?"

"She had trouble with Dawn at the school." Connor said.

"Why didn't you go?" Vi asked.

"You wanted out of that crypt didn't you?"

She smiled sheepishly. "Yeah."

* * *

Rona, Amanda, and Kennedy were sitting on the couch at Buffy's house, talking with Molly, who was on a chair, and Vi who was kneeling on the floor, near the coffee table. All together they formed a circle.

"I'm sure the vampire thought we were like, what, four helpless girls." Rona said. "And then Vi…. Vi actually yells, 'We're just four helpless girls.'"

"That was part of my plan." Vi said.

"When it all started going down, it was like we knew what we were doing. For real."

"Yeah, like when you dodged that first attack, and then cracked him across the jaw." Molly said to Rona.

"Aw, no, no, no, no, no. See, I wouldn't have been able to do that if you hadn't've pulled his legs out."

"I hurt his arm." Vi nodded proudly. "Yep. And an arm can be as lethal as a mouth."

Molly looked at Kennedy. "When you staked him, seriously, the rush was like…."

Kennedy shook her head and looked at Amanda. "So you took one out solo?"

"Yeah, what was that like?"

"I don't know." Amanda said. "I mean, when I saw the vampire, vamp…."

"Vampire's good too." Kennedy said.

"Cool. Yeah, when that vampire attacked me, I felt this kind of charge, you know?"

Dawn was standing on the periphery of the room, watching them talk. Her arms were crossed and she was pouting a little.

"Like you realize in one instant that your whole life is different." Kennedy said.

"Exactly. It's that rush you're talking about." Amanda said.

Buffy walked up to Dawn from the kitchen, followed by Xander and Connor. "Hey." Dawn turned to face her and put on a happy face. "You ok?"

Dawn nodded. "Yeah, I was thinking of hitting the books. Do some research on The First. It's in retreat mode right now, but you're still gonna need to know how to fight it."

"Great. Sounds good." Buffy looked at the potentials. "Hey, you guys, wanna head downstairs? Get our newest arrival up to speed?"

The girls all stood and followed Buffy out of the room. As each potential passed by Dawn, they didn't look at her or acknowledge her at all, until Amanda walked by. Amanda paused for a second and looked at Dawn, smiled, and then continued to follow the other girls. After the girls had gone, Dawn sat down at the desk, opened a book and started to read it. Then she noticed that Xander hadn't left the room but was standing behind her, watching her.

"What's up?" Dawn asked. Neither of them noticed Buffy come into the room and then stop and back out, listening to their conversation.

"Aw, I'm just thinking about the girls." Xander said. "It's a harsh gig, being a potential. Just being picked out of a crowd, danger, destiny, plus if you act now, death."

"They can handle it."

"Yeah." Xander sat in a chair in front of the desk. "They're special, no doubt. The amazing thing is, not one of them will ever know, not even Buffy."

"Know what?"

"How much harder it is for the rest of us."

"No way. They've got…."

"Seven years, Dawn. Working with the Slayer. Seeing my friends get more and more powerful. A witch. A demon. Hell, I could fit Oz in my shaving kit, but come a full moon, he had a wolfy mojo not to be messed with. Powerful. All of them. And I'm the guy who fixes the windows."

"Well, you had that sexy army training for a while, and…. and the windows really did need fixing."

"I saw what you did last night."

"Yeah, I…." Dawn shook her head, embarrassed. "I guess I kinda lost my head when I thought I was the Slayer."

"You thought you were all special. Miss Sunnydale 2003. And the minute you found out you weren't, you handed the crown to Amanda without a moment's pause. You gave her your power."

"The power wasn't mine."

"They'll never know how tough it is, Dawnie, to be the one who isn't chosen. To live so near to the spotlight and never step in it. But I know. I see more than anybody realizes because nobody's watching me. I saw you last night. I see you working here today. You're not special. You're extraordinary." Xander stood and kissed Dawn's forehead and walked out of the room.

"Maybe that's your power." Dawn called after him.

Xander paused at the door. "What?"

"Seeing. Knowing."

"Maybe it is. Maybe I should get a cape."

"Cape is good."

"Yeah." Xander left the room.

Buffy watched as Dawn gathered herself together, never letting a tear drop. She breathed deeply, then went back to work on the books at her desk. Buffy walked in and smiled at her little sister. Dawn looked up at her and Buffy walked over and hugged her sister tightly.

Buffy pushed her sister's hair away from her face. "You are extraordinary, Dawn."

"You're more extraordinary, Buffy."

Buffy shook her head. "I love you, Dawn. Don't ever forget that, ok?"

This time Dawn let the tears fall down her cheeks. "I love you too, Buffy."


	41. Chapter 41

Chapter 41

Giles scurried into the living room, where Buffy, Connor, and Dawn were sitting on the couch. "Are you sure you'll all be all right?" He asked.

"You'll only be gone for two days." Dawn said.

"I think we've managed a bit longer than that." Buffy said.

"Right." Giles looked around nervously and stopped. "Oh, Dawn, Vi's left her notebook on the mantelpiece. Would you mind running it out to the car?"

Dawn stood and went to the fireplace. "Sure."

"While you're at it, you smack her in the head with it and remind her not to leave it lying around."

She walked out the front door with the notebook. "On it."

Giles sat on the coffee table in front of Buffy and Connor. "I'm just a bit twitchy about leaving you alone again here while… while things are in such a state of flux."

"I know. But you should go." Buffy said. "This trip is important for the girls to understand the source of their power, and to know how to use it right."

"Do you think they appreciate the gravity of what we're undertaking? It's frightening, and it's difficult. And then, apparently, someone told them that the vision quest consists of me driving them to the desert, doing the hokey pokey until a spooky Rasta-mama Slayer arrives and speaks to them in riddles." Giles looked hard at Buffy.

"That's not exactly how I put it, I…." Buffy saw Willow come down stairs and enter the room and she quickly changed the subject. "Hey, how's Kennedy?"

"Still fluey. Bummed about missing the field trip." Willow said. "She says she wants you to meditate extra hard for her and to bring her back some smores."

"Ah yes. Smores." Giles said. "I'm going to end up singing campfire songs aren't I?"

"Oh yeah." Buffy giggled.

Connor glanced out of the window that Xander had finally fixed. "Uh…. Giles, you might want to get out there."

"Oh, God, what?"

Dawn walked in. "Molly and Rona are fighting over who gets to drive the first leg."

"Bet you wish you renewed that California state driver's license now, huh?" Buffy asked.

Anya came in the front door. "Rona won. You should probably let Molly out of the trunk." The car horn blew outside and Anya walked to the kitchen with Willow. "I never actually realized just how compact Molly really is."

"Please be safe while I'm away." Giles said to Buffy.

Buffy snickered. "You too." She got up and shut the door behind Giles, then turned to head down to the basement.

"Buffy?" Connor asked, suddenly standing behind her.

"Yeah?"

"The girls ate the last of my Corn Pops."

She smiled. "Have Xander take you to the store for some more. In fact, tell him to load up on groceries and we'll have a get together while the girls are gone."

"Where are you headed?"

"To check on Spike." Buffy opened the door and walked down the stairs. Spike was sitting on a cot, his wrists chained to the wall. "Hey."

"Hey." Spike said.

"Giles is off…. on the retreat."

"Give us all a chance for a breather, eh?"

"From Giles?"

"From the constant pitter patter of clomping teenage girly feet."

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Come on."

"No, I enjoy my responsibility as mentor, role model, life guide…. oh, my God, I cannot believe I have my bathroom all to myself for two whole days." Buffy sat on the cot beside Spike.

"It's like a bloody war-zone up there, and not in a good way."

"Have you seen the kitchen since they've been here?"

"I'm just trying to stay out of their way."

Buffy glanced at his chains. "I noticed."

"This is better. Believe me, it's safer."

"Ok. But you've been fine. In close contact with the girls."

"With you by my side, yeah. You won't let me hurt one of them. And that's the way it's gonna be until we're sure the First is done making me its bitch. Either we're together, or I'm on the leash."

"We just need to make sure the trigger's deactivated then. We've got a couple of days, lack of pitter-patter and all…."

"Buffy…."

"What?"

"Ow."

"Ow?"

Spike's face contorted and twitched. "Ow ow ow!" He leaned back and started thrashing against the wall.

"What's wrong?" Spike put his hands to his head. "Spike, what is going on?"

Spike breathed for a moment. "The chip. God. Why would….." He screamed grabbed his head, writhing in intense pain.

Willow ran down the stairs. "What's going on?"

"I-I-I don't know! Spike!"

* * *

A tea kettle whistled as Buffy walked into the kitchen from the basement. Willow was at the stove. "Hey. How is he?" She asked.

"Oh, in the goes part of comes and goes."

"Well there seems to be a definite lack of screaming. That has to be good."

"You'd think." Willow poured hot water into a cup. "That for the other patient?"

"Yeah. Thought I'd bring her some tea, help her feel better."

"Mm-hmm?" Buffy said teasingly.

"It's just tea."

"Will, how much do you know about the chip?"

"Spike's chip? Well, I remember trying to dig up stuff back then, but, you know, turns out, when a secret government agency studies vampires and puts chips in their brains that keep them from hurting people, they don't really build websites. Why?"

"Even with the chip, Spike was able to hurt all those people when he was brainwashed."

"Yeah, but he was under the control of the First."

"Maybe something's wrong with it."

"The chip is misfiring all on its own, then. Well this'll be fun."

"Remember when things used to be nice and boring?"

"No."

"Have fun…. delivering tea."

"Ok, not when you make it sound all dirty like that. It's just tea." Willow walked out of the room.

A minute later, Xander and Connor came in carrying boxes and bags. "We bought in bulk at Costco!" Xander said proudly.

"Good thinking." Buffy said.

"What's wrong?" Connor asked, setting down his armful.

Buffy shook her head. "Spike's chip is going haywire."

"Haywire how?" Xander asked.

"Going off all on its own haywire." Buffy started helping Xander and Connor put the groceries away.

"Spike's chip?" Connor asked. "What's that?"

Buffy looked at Xander. "I'm gonna go check on him again. Can you update Connor on that one?"

"Sure."

* * *

Spike was lying on the cot on his back, resting his head on a pillow. His nose was bleeding. Buffy sat by him. "Popped another blood vessel, I think." He said.

Buffy handed him a towel and he wiped blood from his nose. "There's gotta be a reason why the chip is going all wonky. Maybe it's related to the trigger or maybe it has something to do with the new soul."

"Or maybe I wasn't meant to last this long. One more thing you and I have in common, eh, pet?"

"Well, we'll fix it. We'll hit serious research mode…."

"Good. Try Behavioral Modification Software Throughout the Ages."

"Ok. You're right. Not a book thing. It's a phone thing."

"Who you gonna call?" Buffy looked at him funny. "God, that phrase is never gonna be useable again, is it?"

"Doubt it." She stood up and unshackled Spike. "Come on." He followed her up the stairs.

"What's the what?" Xander asked.

"Riley's the what."

"Who's that?" Connor asked.

"Buffy's ex-ex-boyfriend." Xander said.

"The military guy you were talking about?"

"See? You are catching on."

* * *

Buffy went through her little Rolodex thing and found the number she was looking for and headed into the living with Spike following her. She picked up the phone and dialed. "Hi…. I-I need to speak with Agent Finn. No, Riley Finn. Yes, Agent Riley Finn. Tell him we're having a problem with Spike's chip. No his chip. Spike."

Spike shook his head. "Listen, pet…."

"No, no, Finn is his last name. Yeah. Well, did he used to work there and then he got transferred?" Spike's chip went off again, he thrashed on the stairs unnoticed by Buffy. "Oh, is this actually a flower shop, or is this one of those things where I'm supposed to play along to show that I know it's really secret ops? Oh, maybe I shouldn't have said that. Oh, ok, right. Well, if some guy named Finn shows up to buy flowers…. Yeah. Thanks." She hung up and turned to Spike. "Wrong number. Or a giant government conspiracy, one or the…." She finally noticed he was recovering from an episode. "Spike?"

"This one seemed easier than the others. See? Probably just gonna fade…." He suddenly screamed, holding his head again.

* * *

Buffy was upstairs changing clothes. Spike's nose had bled so bad it had gotten all over the both of them. Suddenly Anya screamed her name downstairs and Buffy raced out and down the stairs. "What the hell is going on here….." She scowled when she saw Warren and instinctively punched him in the nose. He fell to the ground, writhing in pain on the floor. "Ow!" She stared at Warren.

Spike walked into the room, holding his head. "Buffy…."

"Wait." Anya said.

"But if he's the First…." Dawn said.

"I'm not the First." Warren said.

"You're not the First." Xander repeated.

"I know."

Andrew walked in the room. "Oh, my God! You're back." He hugged Warren from behind, his hands touching Warren's chest.

Warren grabbed Andrew's hands. "Hey, bad touching!" Spike wandered around, holding his head, moaning in pain while everyone stared at Warren. "Everyone please stop it."

"It's Willow." Kennedy said, standing next to Warren.

"I'm Willow."

"Are you sure?" Xander asked.

"There are other stories from kindergarten. Non yellow crayon stories in which you don't come out in such a good light. An incident involving Aquaman underoos, for example. You want me to start talking?"

"Hey, Willow!" Xander hugged Willow/Warren tightly.

"What happened?" Anya asked.

"I don't know. We were there, and then I looked like him." Willow/ Warren said.

"Oh, like a glamour." Anya said.

"Maybe, but I probably brought it on myself."

"What makes you think that?" Buffy asked.

"Well, it wouldn't be the first time. I have a history with my witchy subconscious making things go kerfloopey. Remember the wacky I can't see you, you can't see me spell?" While Willow/Warren was talking, Dawn touched his shoulder and Andrew touched his chest and face.

"Guys!" Buffy snapped.

"It's so real." Andrew said.

"I'm all too aware." Willow/Warren said.

"Ok, say you're right, and you did do this to yourself." Buffy said. "Why would your subconscious turn you into Warren?"

"Obviously because I feel bad…. about killing him."

"We'll deal. We'll get help."

"No, I can handle this."

"On your own? Why?"

"I did it. I'll fix it. I don't want you seeing me this way anyway." Willow/Warren walked toward the door.

"It's kinda a little late for that."

"Seriously, I'm not posing any big threat to the world. Looks like you've got your hands full already." Buffy looked around and saw Spike lying on the floor moaning and twitching. "I'll go, I'll handle it, I'll fix it, I'll be back before you even know I'm gone. Promise." She/He left through the front door.

Buffy went to Spike's side. "Spike."

"Buffy." Spike groaned.

"I'm right here."

"The chip fired again." Xander, Connor, Anya, Dawn, and Andrew gathered around to watch Buffy and Spike as Kennedy snuck out the front door unnoticed.

"I kinda figured. Maybe they'll call back. Maybe they'll send help."

"Maybe we can't wait." Spike said.

"Why don't we go to that place…." Connor said. "The Initiative?"

"It was filled with concrete." Buffy said.

"Are you sure?"

"Only one way to find out." Spike said.


	42. Chapter 42

Chapter 42

Buffy, Connor, and Spike walked through the woods together in the moonlight holding flashlights. "Are you sure you still wanna go back in this place with me?" Spike asked.

"Eh, nothing good on TV tonight." Buffy said.

"Here we are."

"Yep, here we are. You think the stuff's still good?"

"I don't know." Spike dug through the dirt while Connor and Buffy held their flashlights for him. "Worked pretty good when the Initiative held me captive here. Every time I'd get a little…. rambunctious, the chip'd kick in. I feel like my head was gonna explode. They'd dope me up, and everything would be all daffodils and teddy bears. For a couple of hours anyway."

"Maybe we should search for files and stuff. Find out everything we can about the chip's shelf life."

"I'll take whatever I can get." Spike grabbed a chain in the dirt.

Buffy grabbed the chain too and then Connor. "Ready?"

"Yeah." Together, they pulled the chain, hoisting up a metal grate. Spike jumped in first, followed by Connor, and then Buffy.

Buffy clicked on her flashlight and they started to move through the hallways. "Be careful."

"What's that smell?" Connor asked.

Buffy shone her flashlight on rotting bodies on the floor. "Oh, God. They just left them."

"They just sealed the place off. Left everything as it was." Spike said.

"I'm thinking brief stay."

"Yeah, you're not wrong." Spike shone his light on a door. "I think I can get us to the med lab, find the drug." He walked to the door and opened it. Buffy went through it first, then Connor followed by Spike. The door opened to an area lit dimly by red light that led to a large, dark room. They walked slowly through the room when they heard a noise behind them. They turned their flashlights to investigate, but didn't see anything there.

"Would it make me less manly if I said this place was giving me the creeps?" Connor asked.

"No." Buffy said.

Something made a sound like groaning metal and they stopped in their tracks, putting their backs together. "You hear that?" Spike asked.

"Yep." They shone their flashlights around the room, but couldn't see anything.

"Think something survived?"

"Sounds like."

"You see where?" Connor asked.

"No, it sounded like it was coming from over there. Whatever it is, it's not…." Something whooshed behind them. They turned to look, but saw nothing. They continued walking around. From out of nowhere, something grabbed Buffy and she dropped her flashlight.

"Buffy!" Spike and Connor yelled. The two of them jumped in to help Buffy fight off the demon that was attacking her when Spike's chip misfired again.

"Not now…." Spike collapsed on the floor.

"Spike!" Buffy yelled.

The demon dropped Buffy and went to Spike, grabbing him by the heel and dragging him out of the room. Connor and Buffy ran after them They searched through a dark hallway with only their flashlights to illuminate their progress.

"Spike?" Buffy called.

The demon pounced on Buffy. Connor grabbed a nearby snow shovel and swung it at the demon. The demon threw Connor across the room. Buffy got up and kicked at it with both feet, pushing it away. When it came at her again, Connor tossed Buffy the shovel and she thrust it into the demon's chest. It growled and fell to the floor. Buffy dropped the shovel and went to Spike.

"Hey. Are you still with us?"

"Yeah."

"That guy was…." The lights suddenly came on in the room and Buffy looked up at a half-dozen army men pointing guns at her, Connor, and Spike. "Just the beginning."

"What's happening?" Spike asked.

"Miss Summers." One of the soldiers said. "Agent Finn reported that you tried to contact him earlier today."

"I knew it!" She leaned down and whispered to Spike. "Government conspiracy."

The head soldier waved the other soldiers off and they put down their guns. "He indicated you might be needing our assistance. We're to provide you anything you need to help assface here." The three of them stared at the soldier. "Those were his exact words, ma'am."

* * *

Buffy paced outside the examination room where Spike was lying on a table. Connor leaned against the wall across from her watched silently. Buffy turned to look at him. "You did a good job with that shovel."

"Thank you." Connor said.

"Your dad would've been proud of you."

"Uh-huh."

"You're not still upset over the whole Angelus thing are you?" Connor shrugged and stayed silent. "Connor…."

The lead soldier came up to them and Buffy turned to look at him. "Med team tells me they took a look at the chip. You were right. It's degraded. Leave it as it is much longer, it'll be fatal to him."

"Ok. So, how long t…."

"Now."

"Right, of course. Um, what do we do next?"

"Agent Finn said it was your call, ma'am."

"My…. what was my call?"

"All decisions regarding Hostile 17 are to be left in your hands. This chip…. we can either repair it…. or remove it."

Buffy blinked, looked down, and took a deep breath. She looked over at Connor. "What're you gonna do?" He asked.

Buffy thought for a moment. She had faith in Spike. He had a soul now. He had even tried to be good when he didn't have a soul and she knew it wasn't the chip. But how would her friends react if they found out the chip was gone and it had been Buffy's call? For a strange moment, Buffy asked herself what she would do if it had been Angel instead of Spike. "Take it out." She said. "Remove it."

"Are you positive?" The soldier asked.

"Yeah. Take it out."

* * *

Buffy sat with Spike in the graveyard on top of a sarcophagus. Connor was near them fighting off a vampire. They were hiding from the overcrowded house. Giles had brought the girls back early because Xander, Dawn, Anya, and Andrew had been convinced Giles was the First. They had gone out to the desert and ruined the little field trip. Spike had been resting downstairs in the basement when they had told Buffy everything. Buffy hadn't told anyone yet about the chip and it had been over a day since the chip had been removed.

"Kid's good." Spike said.

"Yeah." Buffy looked at Spike. "How are you?"

"Decent. A little sore in the noggin, but other than that…." He sighed. "Why did you choose to take it out?"

"Because I trust you."

"That's a first." Buffy smiled and didn't say anything. "When is Peaches coming down here?"

"I don't know. I haven't talked to him in a while. I don't know if he's found Cordelia yet and if he hasn't, it worries me that she knows Connor's here. She could come for him."

"Why does she want him so bad?"

"I don't know. She was hitting on him from Connor told me. Trying to seduce him into bed with her."

"Is the kid…. Has he…."

"I don't think so. I'll leave that conversation up to Angel."

"Want me to talk to him?"

"No! Gross, Spike."

"Not about that. I meant…. I'll help him deal with his issues. I don't know, maybe helping him will help me deal with my issues."

Buffy smiled. "You'd do that?"

"Anything for you." Buffy looked away and blushed. Spike laughed. "Don't flatter yourself. You're my best friend, Buffy."

"Really?"

"You're the only one that's stuck by me and was nice to me when I was…. Out of it."

"I knew you'd come through it." Connor dusted the vamp and stood up, brushing herself off. "That took a while."

"I think he was a contortionist or something before he died. He kept getting in these weird positions and I couldn't hold him." Connor said.

Buffy smiled. "Sure. That's what they all say." Connor smiled. "Hey, I don't want to go back to the house. Anybody up for dinner at IHOP? My treat."

"It would have to be." Spike joked. "I don't have any money on me."

"Me either." Connor said.

"Moochers." Buffy shot at them. "Come on. I'm hungry and their French toast is calling my name."

"I don't hear it."

"What do you hear?" Spike asked him.

"A stack of pancakes smothered in syrup."

"You know, at the rate you're going, you'll need to worry about clogged arteries killing you before a demon does." Buffy said.

* * *

A few nights later, Giles was telling his story to the girls as they patrolled. Buffy, Kennedy, Amanda and Chao-Ahn were with him.

"It was, uh, extraordinary good luck, of course. And…. and, uh, training…. years of training. Chao-Ahn, keep up. You're new here, Chao-Ahn, so take note. Remember about training. But I honestly feel the largest part of it was instinct. Instinct and-and reflexes. There's a sort of wary watchfulness I've developed over the years. It's like another sense…." From out of nowhere, someone attacked Giles, knocking him to the ground. It was Spike.

"Spike!" Buffy cried.

"Hey!" Giles and Spike yelled. "You're not in pain!" Giles said as Spike said, "You're not the First!"

"What?" Giles asked.

"Anya said you were the First. Said you were evil. You're supposed to be all go-through-able." He stood and walked to Buffy's side.

"Then what the hell did you tackle me for, you jerk?" Giles asked. "What's that supposed to do?"

"I, uh, I didn't think of that."

"More importantly, you just hit me. Why didn't your chip go off?"

"Yeah, well…"

"Well, uh, when we were at the Initiative…." Buffy looked at Spike.

"There was a choice."

"Right. Either repair the chip, or to remove it."

"You had it remov….. You removed the chip?" Giles asked.

"Yeah."

"Had to make a choice." Spike said.

"It really is ok."

"What's a chip?" Amanda asked.

"They removed the chip?" Kennedy asked.

Chao-Ahn said something in Chinese and they all stared at her a moment. Giles shook his head. "I don't understand. Why did you…."

"Connor!" Buffy said suddenly. "What are you doing here?"

"Patrolling. It was dead in my cemetery. And I threw a pun in there. Did you hear it?" Connor asked proudly.

Buffy smiled. "You're a regular Buffy-in-training." Connor smiled broadly. "Come on. You, Spike, and I can hit the warehouse district." She lowered her voice so only Spike and Connor could hear her. "We'll hit the Bronze for a little getaway fun from the House of Estrogen." Buffy waved to the others. "Have fun."

"What about us?" Kennedy asked.

"Giles has got plenty he needs to show you. By the end of it, you'll be ready to practice your crossbow on him."

"Buffy!" Giles called after her. She glanced at him over her shoulder. "We're not done with this conversation."

Buffy pretended not to hear him as she trotted away with Connor and Spike. Kennedy and Amanda grumbled that they were stuck with the "stuffy one" instead of the Chosen One.

* * *

Buffy sat at her vanity, putting on large gold hoop earrings. She was wearing a thin v-necked red sweater. Giles walked down the hall toward her room and stopped at the doorway. "You know this is very dangerous."

"Ah, you just heard the horror stories." Buffy said. "Wear hoops, they'll catch on something, rip your lobe off. Lobes flying everywhere."

"That's not what I'm talking about."

"You mean Spike not having a chip. Free range Spike?"

"I have to ask…. why on Earth did you make that decision?"

"Guess it was instinct, like you were talking about."

"I made that up! I knew the Bringer was there because his shoes squeaked. Buffy, it's crucial that we keep these girls safe. I can't count the dangers…. the First, the Bringers, random demons, and now Spike?"

"And the principal."

"What?"

"Oh, nothing much. He was in the school basement, holding a shovel, acting evasive. Plus, he's got that whole too charming to be real thing going on. I'm looking into it."

"Oh, well that sounds very responsible of you. Balances out the vampire-on-the-loose issue."

Buffy stood and walked across the room to fold laundry. "Nothing's changed, Giles. Spike had a chip before, remember? When the First had him kill and sire all those people."

"We have no idea if his chip was working then. A new chip might restrain him should the First attempt to activate him again."

"Spike has a soul now. That's what's gonna stop him from hurting people."

"Buffy…."

"He can be a good man, Giles. I feel it. But he's never gonna get there if we don't give him the chance." She walked to her closet to put the clothes away.

"Buffy, I want more for you. Your feelings for him are coloring your judgement. I can hear it in your voice. And that way lies a future filled with pain. I don't want that for you."

"We haven't…. Things have been different since he came back."

"It doesn't matter if you're not physical with each other anymore. There's a connection. You rely on him, he relies on you. That's what's affecting your judgment."

"You think I'm losing sight of the big picture, but I'm not. When Spike had that chip, it was like having him in a muzzle. It was wrong. You can't beat evil by doing evil. I know that." Buffy walked out of the room.

"Well, I hope you're right. You're gambling with a lot of lives."


	43. Chapter 43

Chapter 43

While no one was looking, Buffy walked into the office labeled Principal. Robin M. Wood on it and closed the door behind her. She looked through files on his desk, then looked around the room. "Now, if I were a sign of being evil, where would I be?" Buffy noticed a wall cabinet, and walked up to it. Before she could open it, Principal Wood walked into the office.

"Uh, Buffy?"

"Principal Wood. It's you."

"You looking for something?"

"File folders. And mechanical pencils. Well, I want to write on a file folder with a mechanical pencil."

"The supply cabinet in the outer office has those things."

"Oh, this isn't a supply cabinet? My bad. Ok. Thanks." Buffy started to walk out.

"Hey, Buffy…."

"Yeah?"

"Um, what're you doing tonight?"

"Preparing for tomorrow's counseling sessions."

"No, really."

"Watching a reality show about a millionaire and possibly calling my ex to see how he's doing."

"Well, then, I'd, um…. You're not dating him are you?"

"Not…. Ex-boyfriend."

"Good because I'd like to take you out to dinner, if that's all right with you. I mean, you don't have to. I'm certainly not saying come to dinner if you enjoy having a job." He chuckled then realized what he'd said. "You know, I may have to make up a document saying I didn't just say that and have you sign it."

"Sure. I'd be happy to have dinner with you."

"Great. I'll draw up the paperwork."

Buffy nodded and walked out of the office.

* * *

Buffy sat on the couch while Willow was folding laundry from the laundry basket beside her. Connor lounged on the chair across from them, playing a hand-held video game.

"So, he asked you out to dinner?" Willow asked.

"Yeah. Isn't that weird? I mean, he's a principal. He's a young, hot principal with earrings, but he's a principal. Why do you think he asked me out? I mean, he could be interested, right?" Buffy said.

"Yeah, sure. You're a frisky vixen."

"Or, it could be work-related. Maybe I'm getting promoted for doing such a good job."

Willow laughed then noticed Buffy's hurt look and got serious. "Oh, right, that…. that makes sense too."

"Or, maybe he knows that I suspect he's up to something, and he's taking me out to kill me."

"Well, you'll have to dress for the ambiguity."

"You know, it's not even that he's acting that suspicious. It's just…. there he is. On the Hellmouth. All day, every day. That's got to be like being showered with evil. Only from underneath."

"Not really a shower."

"A bidet. Like a bidet of evil."

"Buff, if he's really interested, are you interested back?"

"I don't know. He's good-looking, and he's…. he's solid, he's smart, he's normal. So, not the wicked energy, which is nice cause I don't want to only be attracted to wicked energy. Or what if he is wicked, in which case, is that why I'm attracted to him?"

"I'm gonna wait for that sentence to come around again before I jump on."

"You know what? Yeah, I mean I think I like him. And he'd be good for me."

"Hey! What about dad?" Connor piped up.

"Oh, now you're an advocate for the Buffy and Angel show?" Buffy asked.

"Well, I thought you guys loved each other."

"We do."

"Then…. You should stick with him."

"Or you could give the principal a go." Willow said. "Just to see what happens. I meant, you can't wait forever for Angel's shanshu."

"Angel's what?" Connor asked.

"Oh." The front door opened. "Hey, someone's here." Buffy said.

Xander came in through the front door all giddy. "Guys, guess what happened."

"Buffy got a date!" Willow said.

"No, I did. Fine. Way to steal my thunder."

"Sorry." Buffy said. "If it makes you feel better, it's Principal Wood, and I think he's aligned with the First."

"Also, like ten years older than you, right?"

"Which is like 100 years younger than your type!" Willow said.

"Huh…. Someone who doesn't remember the Industrial Revolution." Buffy said.

"I think they're gonna end up making out." Willow held a pair of socks to her chest lovingly. "Oh, Principal Wood, she'll gasp, I love your lack of wicked energy."

Buffy threw a pair of socks at Willow. "Watch it, or I'm gonna make you talk about your new girlfriend who you hold hands with under the dinner table and think we don't notice."

"How 'bout yours, Xander. Is she evil?"

"Well, she's interested in me, so there's a good chance, but I'm hoping for the best. We're going for coffee. She has a kayak…."

Giles and Chao-Ahn came through the front door, loaded with overflowing shopping bags. "Dear lord, I hate that mall. The shop assistants are rude. And everything in the Food Court is sticky."

"Looks like you found her some stuff." Willow said.

"Oh, hello. Yes."

"That's gotta be rough." Xander said. "Getting just like pulled out of your home, being told you're a potential Slayer, not being able to bring anything."

"Yes, and the language barrier is formidable. I was concerned that my Mandarin is a little thin, but as it turns out, she speaks Cantonese, which is thinner. But we muddled through, and, as I suspected, ice cream is a universal language."

Chao-Ahn said something in Chinese and everyone stared. Buffy smiled broadly and nodded, talking through her closed teeth. "What'd she say?"

"She's grateful to be in the land of plenty." Giles looked at Chao-Ahn and said slowly, "Let's, um, go and put away your new clothes." He picked up bags and walked upstairs. Chao-Ahn nodded and followed.

"Hey, Will, do you think you can do a computer check on Principal Wood. See if you can find anything out." Buffy asked.

"Yeah, sure. Want me to check your girl out while I'm at it, Xand?" Willow said.

"Nope. I'm going in blind." Xander said. "I'm gonna be an optimist about this. Why go looking for trouble? If it's gonna find you, it's gonna find you."

"I still think Angel's the one you should stick with for now. At least he doesn't want to kill you most of the time." Connor said.

Buffy looked over at him. "Principal Wood doesn't want to kill me."

"You don't think."

"Smart ass."

"I'm telling dad."

"What are you, three!?"

"No, but if I tell him, he'll be down here in a heartbeat, pun intended, and you'll be wishing you hadn't gone on that date."

Buffy shook her head. "You're a confusing guy. One minute you're all for me and Angel not being together, the next you are. What's the next head trip? You want Angel and I to settle down with a dog and a white picket fence?"

"No. The picket fence would kill him and I don't like dogs." Connor looked at Buffy. "The way I see it, if you're with Angel, I can keep an eye on you. If you're with someone else, they could take you away from me."

Buffy lifted an eyebrow. "I take it back. You're not confusing. You're downright disturbing."

Connor shrugged. "It's a gift."

* * *

Anya was cleaning a spot on a blouse while Buffy waited wearing jeans and a lace camisole. "I don't think it's really a date." Anya said. "That's what I think."

"Well, it is unclear." Buffy said. "That's why I chose a top that says, you know, I'm comfortable in a stodgy office or a swinging casual setting…. or killing you, you know, if you're a demon."

"It also says I sometimes get blood on my shoulder. Or it might be pizza." She handed the shirt to Buffy. "I don't think I can fix it."

"Thanks for trying."

"And I wasn't talking about your date anyway. I was talking about this sham date of Xander's. I think it's part of a plan to make me jealous."

"Well, it's not working."

"Are you nuts? Of course it's working. Observe my-my bitter ranting. Hear the shrill edge of hysteria in my voice."

"Um, I should really go find something else to wear." Buffy walked out of the bathroom.

"Fine, go. Leave me here to stew in my impotent rage." Buffy stopped and turned to look at Anya. "I'm also gonna pee, so you should probably go."

Buffy stepped out of the bathroom into the hallway to find Spike walking down the hall. They were face to face. Buffy stopped in her tracks as soon as she saw him and tried to cover herself with the stained blouse.

"You look nice." Spike said.

"Oh, thanks. Uh, traditionally, one wears something over this."

"Heard you got a date."

"Well, it's unclear. I mean, I have this whole theory about a promotion. Or he's evil."

"Buffy, I'm all right."

"You don't have to…."

"What? Be noble? I'm not. Really, I'm all right. Think I still dream of a crypt for two with a white picket fence? My eyes are clear."

"Good. I'm glad. Thank you."

"Never much cared for picket fences, anyway. Bloody dangerous."

"You should try this too. The going out thing, I mean. I mean, there's that girl you brought to Anya and Xander's not-a-wedding."

"Oh, yeah, right. There's always girls who like the look…. bad boy, you know. Does it for some of them."

"Yeah, I can see that. I should go. I don't wanna be late." Buffy walked down the hall past Spike.

"Buffy." She turned to look at him. "I'm not the one you should be worrying about, though."

"Why?"

"From what Angel Jr. was telling me…. I don't think Peaches will be too happy you going on a date. And I also think Angel Jr. isn't happy about it either."

Buffy shrugged. "Like I said, I don't think it's actually a date. So they can both shut it. Like I'm about to do this door." She smiled and shut the door. Spike chuckled and headed back downstairs.

* * *

Buffy and Principal Wood walked down a dark alley side by side. Buffy looked around, uncomfortable. "This isn't right." She stopped walking.

"I know it doesn't look promising, but I swear this place is great." Wood said. "It's the best kept secret in town. It's just right down this way." They started walking again.

"Well, it is one of the nicer dark alleys."

"I promise you, it's just a little bit further."

"Ok…."

As they walked down the alley, a vampire stepped out in front of them. Then two more stepped up behind them, growling. Buffy started fighting them immediately. There was a horde of them now. She managed to punch them and kick them away from her one by one until she had the opportunity to get her stake out of her purse. She staked one, then another, then another.

"You set me up, you son of a…." Buffy realized that Principal Wood was also fighting off vampires. Without her help. "What?"

Principal Wood overpowered one of the vampires and staked him. Then knocked the last one to the ground, staking him too. He flipped the stake in his hand, then returned it to his belt holster as he walked back to Buffy.

Wood offered her a hand to help her stand. "I guess we should talk." Buffy stared at Principal Wood. "The restaurant's right there." He gestured to the door. Buffy stood and walked with him into the restaurant.


	44. Chapter 44

Chapter 44

Buffy and Principal Wood sat across from each other at a small table in a very elegant, romantic restaurant. Principal Wood was talking to the waitress, ordering from the menu. "Thank you." He finished.

"This place is nice. How the hell did you do that?" Buffy asked.

"I've had a little practice. Never took on two at once before, but I have taken out a vamp here or there. And some demons."

"So, you're freelance?"

"Hmm…. Freelance…." He nodded. "I guess that's a good way to put it."

"And you know who I am?"

"You're the Slayer."

"Right. Ok, um, so I'm guessing that you don't work in an office 15 feet above the Hellmouth because you enjoy educational administration?"

"Well, I actually do enjoy the work, but yeah. Yeah, you're right. I maneuvered myself into that school, that office…. just like I maneuvered you there. The Hellmouth drew the bad things in close, and now we're headed for something big, Buffy. Really big, and I need to be here when it happens. I want to help."

"So, y-you didn't hire me for my counseling skills?"

Wood laughed then saw Buffy's hurt look. "They're valuable too."

"Wh-why didn't you tell me about you?"

"I wasn't sure about things yet."

"Y-you didn't think you could trust me?"

"No, no. No, I wasn't sure I was ready yet…. ready to jump into this fight."

"And now you are?"

"Well, now the fight is starting…. or starting to start…. and I don't have time to worry anymore. I have to do something."

"So, you knew who I was before you even came here."

"Yes."

"How? How do you know about Slayers?"

"Right. Ok. See, when I was a little boy, my mother was one. The one, actually…. the Slayer."

"Your mother…. Wow, I didn't know that any Slayers had children."

"Well, I don't know of any others. She was killed when I was four. I still remember her, but it's a little…. fuzzy? You know?"

"Um, something got her…. a demon….?"

"A vampire. Oh, man, I went through this whole avenging son phase in my twenties, but I never found him. So, now I just dust as many of them as I can find. I figure, eventually I'll get him. That's probably why we got jumped outside. I'm not very popular with the bumpy-foreheaded crowd, and I bet you aren't either."

"No. Not most of them. Um, so, do you have any Slayer powers? I'm sorry, I…. I'm just so floored. I-I have no idea what to ask."

"No, I don't have powers. No super-strength or mythic responsibilities. I'm just a guy with a few skills cause her Watcher took me in and raised me."

"So, you decided to tell me?"

"That's right."

"In a darkened, little romantic French restaurant?"

"Um, yeah…. Yeah, I'm not really sure how that happened, but yeah." Buffy laughed. "So, Connor…. Is he really the son of a friend?"

"Actually, yeah. But it's complicated. He's the son of my ex…. The one I was telling you about…. He's a vampire. Angelus to be exact."

"I've heard of him. He's supposed to be…."

"The baddest of the bad? Yeah. He is. When he doesn't have a soul."

"He has his soul?"

"Pissed off some gypsies back in the day and as revenge, they gave him his soul. He's been atoning for what he did as Angelus ever since."

"I'm confused. Vampires can't have children."

"No, but Connor was in this prophecy. He was destined to be the son of two vampires. We're still not completely sure why, though. Giles has been so busy, he hasn't had time to look."

"I can't believe I haven't heard about this. Connor looks like he's seventeen years old."

"Eighteen. But he was only born last year."

"Wait…. Huh?"

"I told you it was complicated. A man from Angel's past came back for his revenge on Angelus for killing his family, found out Angel had a son, and took him to a hell dimension. He was only gone for a few days, but…."

"The hell dimension's time moved faster than ours."

"Exactly."

"I see. Wow…. And you have him, why?"

"Issues with his father because of the man who raised him. Angel's a good man. Connor's coming around."

"What better person to bring the son around than the woman who loves him."

"How did you…."

"I heard rumors about your affair with a vampire. Didn't know it was THE Angelus, though."

* * *

Buffy and Wood were on the dessert course now. Buffy was eating a cheesecake that was almost good enough to die for. "Oh, my God! Mmm. Oh, my God. That might be the best thing I've ever had in my mouth."

"Isn't it good? They soak the pears in brandy. Here, you need a bite with sauce." Wood fed a bite to Buffy.

She looked up while being hand-fed by the Principal and saw Spike and Connor standing there. "What are you two doing here?"

"Is there a problem?" Wood asked.

"It's Xander." Spike said.

Buffy's expression melted into one of worry. "What's wrong?"

"His girlfriend is evil." Connor said. "He managed to send a text message to Willow."

"Let's go." Buffy stood up.

Wood threw some money on the table and walked out with them. They all piled into his car. "He's at the high school." Spike said.

"You sure he's in the high school?"

"Willow did a locator spell. Usual stuff."

"I'm not surprised. That school's at the center of everything." Wood said.

"How much longer 'til we get there?" Buffy asked.

"Ten minutes." Wood watched the rear view mirror suspiciously. He could only see Connor. "So, how do you two know each other?"

"He works with me. Uh, you know, in the struggle against evil."

"Mmm. Cool."

* * *

Buffy burst into the room where Xander was strung up over the seal. "Xander!" Xander was hanging from the ceiling, but Buffy ran towards the demon girl Lissa first, punching her and disarming her by knocking the knife from her hand.

"Buffy!" Xander cried.

Buffy and Lissa were whaling on each other when Spike entered the room. Lissa started whaling on Spike. She kicked Buffy away, knocking her to the ground. She pushed Spike down and started strangling him, bringing forth Spike's vampire facade. Wood saw Spike's face change. "He's a vampire." He said.

"Oh, God! Hurry!" Xander cried.

Wood stopped staring at Spike and went to aid Xander, cutting the ropes that held his hands to the wheel, but the seal was already beginning to open. Across the room, Buffy knocked Lissa off of Spike. A Turok-Han was reaching out of the seal as it opened, but Wood escaped its grasp as he finally got Xander down from the wheel. The seal slammed shut, cutting off the arm of the Turok-Han that was reaching out. Wood set Xander down against a wall.

Buffy and Lissa were still struggling over possession of a sword. Lissa knocked Buffy across the room, but Buffy held on to the sword. Spike engaged in fighting Lissa, but he was getting his butt kicked. Buffy pulled Lissa away from Spike and cut off Lissa's head with the sword. As her head was separated from her body, Lissa's true form was revealed as a gruesome pinkish creature with hairy shoulders and stitches all over its head and nasty black shark teeth on its lipless jaws.

Buffy looked at Spike. "Hey." She went to Spike's side to make sure he was all right. She held Spike's hand, but saw Principal Wood staring at them as she comforted him. She stood and went to Xander.

Connor finally rushed into the room. They all looked at him. He just shrugged. "I swear those walls changed! I lost Spike and then I got lost myself."

Buffy shook her head and kneeled next to Xander. "I think your friend's gonna be ok." Wood said.

"Hey, Xand. I'm here." Buffy said.

"So, how's your date going?" Xander asked. Buffy looked at Principal Wood, who was staring at Spike. Spike glanced from Buffy to Wood.

* * *

Buffy led Xander into the house. His shirt was wrapped around his waist as a surrogate bandage. Spike followed them into the house and Connor brought up the rear. "What happened?" Willow asked.

"What do you think happened?" Xander snapped. "Another demon woman was attracted to me. I'm going gay. I've decided I'm turning gay. Willow, gay me up. Come on, let's gay."

"What?"

"You heard me. Just tell me what to do. I'm mentally undressing Scott Bakula right now. That's a start, isn't it? Come on, let's get this gay show on the gay road. Help me out here."

"What if you just start attracting male demons?" Buffy asked playfully.

"Clem always liked you." Dawn giggled.

"It would serve you right." Anya pouted.

"Children, enough." Giles said.

"I'd need some stylish new clothes." Xander said.

"Enough! Have you learned nothing from tonight's assorted chaos? There isn't time for fun and games and quips about orientation." Giles held up the bloody, grusome flashcards he'd been using to teach Chao-Ahn with. "These…. these aren't a joke. This…. this happens. Girls are going to die. We may die. It's time to get serious." He walked out of the room.

"Is he always that…. Grumpy?" Connor asked.

"Sometimes worse." Willow said. "When he starts cleaning his glasses and making a cluck-cluck sound with his tongue, that's when you should run."

* * *

Buffy sat on the couch alone in the living room. She had tried to get a hold of Angel again, but there was still no answer over there. She was starting to get really worried. Spike walked in and sat next to her.

"Did anybody tell you about what happened around here tonight?" Spike asked.

"Willow did. The First is back in the mix." Buffy said.

"It, uh, it talked to the little boy. Said it wasn't time for me yet. I should move out. Leave town before it is time for me."

"No, you have to stay."

"You're knight in shining leather will ride into town soon and you've got yet another demon fighter now…."

"That's not why I need you here."

"Is that right? Why's that then?"

"'Cause I'm not ready for you to not be here."

"And the principal? How's he fit in?"

Buffy looked at him a moment, then Spike looked away. "He's nice, but he's not my type."

"So, that leaves the two vampires."

"That leaves nobody. I don't know if I'm ready for a relationship right now."

"You're sure gripping that phone like you are."

Buffy shook her head. "I'm worried about him. He was supposed to call me and he hasn't in a couple of weeks now."

"Thinking about heading up there?"

"I wish I could, but I'm needed here. I can't abandon ship until this is over."

"The captain always goes down with the ship."

"And that's probably how it'll turn out."

* * *

A couple of nights later, Buffy was walking around the house, checking on the Potentials as they slept. The floor was crowded with them in their sleeping bags. Buffy bent down to pick up a large, thick book labeled _Greek_ and put it on the desk before turning out the light.

She went upstairs to check on more potentials in Willow's room. Kennedy was sleeping in the bed with Willow, and several more girls were in sleeping bags on the floor. Buffy heard crying from the hallway, and went to investigate. In the corner at the end of the hall, Chloe was sitting on the floor, huddled up with her knees to her chest, sobbing.

"Chloe?" Buffy asked. "It is Chloe, right?" Chloe looked up at Buffy, but before she could answer, the First Slayer tackled Buffy from the side, pushing her down the stairs. The First Slayer landed on top of Buffy.

"It's not enough." She rasped.

Buffy gasped as she shot awake from the dream. She looked around her room and saw Connor sleeping peacefully on his cot. This was the one room of the house that was off limits to the Potentials. She furrowed her brow as she contemplated what just happened.


	45. Chapter 45

Chapter 45

Buffy was sitting at her desk, and Principal Wood was standing behind her with his arms crossed. They were both facing two young boys who had bruises and ripped shirts. "This may mean more than you think." Buffy said.

"Is that so?" Wood asked. "Because I think what we have here is a couple of chuckle-heads who thought that a cafeteria fist fight would impress. I'm not impressed. Buffy, are you impressed?" Buffy shook her head disapprovingly. "Still, I'm gonna cut you guys some slack this time." He made a gesture toward the door with his thumb and the kids left. Wood looked at Buffy. "Third fight this week, and it's just getting worse." He closed the window blinds and walked to the front of Buffy's desk. "Plus, a rise in vandalism. Three students missing. Tell me something, Buffy, in your professional opinion…. it's started, hasn't it?"

"The Hellmouth has begun its semi-annual percolation. Usually, it blows around May."

"Was it like this before? I mean, it just seems to me as if things are getting bad faster than we thought."

"We're a little ahead of schedule."

"I can't say I'm too surprised. I knew I signed on for something, but, Buffy, I'm just a guy. Granted, a cool and sexy vampire-fighting guy, but still."

"Don't forget snappy dresser."

"Thank you. But this is gonna get bigger than me."

"Yeah, it is."

"That's why I've decided to give you this." Wood reached down under Buffy's desk and pulled up a large leather duffel bag, setting it on her desk with a clunk.

"What is it?"

"An emergency kit. This bag belonged to my mother."

"A Slayer keepsake. I-I couldn't."

"Well, you have to. Technically, it should have been passed down directly to you through the years, but after my mother died…. I guess I just couldn't part with it."

"Wow!"

"I don't know what's inside, exactly, but I know it has something to do with her power. Well, your power now."

"I-I don't know what to say."

"Try saying, 'Thank you, Principal Wood.'"

"Thank you, Principal Wood."

"Ah, call me Robin. Now, I'd like to see where you work."

"Uh, here, actually. Uh, th-this is my desk, and, uh, these are my pencils…."

"No, where you do your other work."

* * *

Buffy and Robin walked through the front door to Buffy's house. "So, all the potential slayers…. who seem to keep popping up from, like, every corner of the earth…. were getting killed."

"By the First." Robin said.

"Agents of. We thought the Council could protect them, but, unfortunately, no one was protecting the Council, and all their Watchers were killed. Word got out, and they've all been coming here since."

"Well, there's nothing like the end of the world to bring people together."

"It's heartwarming. Anyway, this is, uh, it. Command central."

Andrew stormed into the room wearing a white apron and a red and white checked oven mitt on each hand. "Where the hell have you been? This funnel cake is kicking my ass."

"Yeah, I hear they're tricky." Robin said.

"Robin Wood, this is…. Andrew." Buffy said.

"It's a pleasure."

"Andrew is our…. actually, he's our hostage."

"I like to think of myself more as a," He made quote marks in the air with his mitted hands. "guestage."

"So, you…. you hold him here against his will?" Robin asked.

"Well, he was evil, and people got killed, and now he…. bakes. It's a thing." Buffy said.

"Oh."

"Could we try to just keep our secret headquarters a little bit secret? Keep bringing people in, they're gonna see everything. They'll see the big board." Andrew said.

"Andrew, we don't have a big board." Buffy said.

Andrew ran to fetch a white dry-erase board from behind the chair. "I, uh, made it myself." The board was labeled: SUNNYDALE "BIG BOARD". Using every color of marker, the board featured a hand-drawn map of Sunnydale, with representations of trees, cemeteries, railroad tracks, and the street grid.

"Oh, I wouldn't have guessed." Robin said.

"Uh, this is us. And this represents the First in various incarnations. And, uh, there's no pattern to the naked eye yet, but the instant one emerges, yours truly is on it." Buffy and Robin looked at each other, then walked away. Andrew called after them, "Where do we put our receipts?"

Buffy led Robin out to the back porch. "You'll have to forgive Andrew. Or not. Your call. We do have a lot more working for us than just the, uh, big board."

"So, I see."

The potential Slayers were training in the backyard, being led by Kennedy. "Punch block combo!" She called. "Cross block kick!" After every command the potentials did as they were told ending with a loud HUH. "Chamber your energy. Punch block combo!" Chloe did the moves incorrectly, and Kennedy noticed, walking up to her. "Hold it! What the hell do you call that, potential? Try that in the field, you are dead. Drop, and give me 20."

"20 what?" Chloe asked.

"Push-ups, maggot!" Chloe dropped to do push-ups and Kennedy turned toward Buffy and Robbin still scowling, then suddenly grinning and giddy. "I love this job! Did you see that? I called that girl maggot. Hi. Who the hell are you?"

"An ally." Buffy said.

"So, what do you think? My girls ready to kick some ass, or what?"

"Looking strong." Robin agreed.

"But…."

"Well, I'm just not sure the First has an ass that you can actually, you know, kick."

"Guess we'll see."

"Principal Wood, hi!" Amanda said. "It's so weird seeing you outside of school."

"What are you waving at, potential? Attention!" Kennedy snapped. "Rising sun. Begin." They continued their training.

"You're right, it's not enough." Buffy said.

"That's not what I said, Buffy. It's an impressive group of recruits." Robin said.

"They're not recruits. Recruits are…. recruited. These girls were chosen."

"You're doing the best you can with what you've got."

"They're not all gonna make it. Some will die, and nothing I can do will stop that."

Willow walked out the back door onto the porch, arms full of weapons. She froze when she saw Robin. "Oh, hi. Hey. Well, Buffy, I…. I see that our preparation for the school-pep-dance-cheer-drill contest are coming along. Bring it on!"

"It's ok, I filled him in on everything." Buffy said.

Willow let out a sigh of relief. "Oh, thank God! If I had to explain all these weapons, I had nothing." She put down the weapons.

"Buffy tells me you have been, um…. oh, how shall I put it…. experimenting." Robin said. Willow's eyes grew wide and she cast a 'you said what?' glance at Buffy. "With the magicks."

"Oh! Yeah. Oh, nothing too heavy, though. Just the lighter, safer stuff. Uh, if Kennedy asks, her pointy stuff's right there. See you inside." Willow whispered to Buffy. "So much cooler than Snyder."

"She really almost destroyed the world?" Robin asked.

"Yep." Buffy said.

"Remind me not to make her crabby."

"It might be better if you did."

"How's that work?"

"Oh, I don't know. It's just…. the First is coming, and then look at us: the army. We've got a bunch of fighters with nothing to hit, a Wicca who won't-a, and the brains of our operation wears oven mitts."

"Hmm. Well, you're redefining the job, Buffy, and that takes guts. This isn't your full arsenal anyway. Show me the vampire."

"Which one?"

"Spike."

"Oh, that one."

* * *

Anya and Spike were talking in the basement about their little excursion the night before. "But you just let him go." Anya said.

"After saving your life." Spike said.

"For now. That was one of D'Hoffryn's killers, Spike. He won't stop coming 'til he kills me."

"Yet here you are, walking, talking, annoying."

"But you fought like such a wimpire, what with the lifting and the running. Why not just kill him?" Buffy and Robin walked downstairs into the basement.

"Anya, think. I fight, demon boy gets lucky, I get knocked out, you get killed. True? We both know the safest and sanest way of saving your life was to keep you with me, away from danger." Anya grunted, shook her head and walked away. "No need to thank me. I'm just the one who beat him off. Repelled him would perhaps be the better phrase. Demon."

"Figured." Buffy said.

"I hope we're not intruding." Robin said.

"Not a bit." Spike retorted. "And just what brings our good principal to this neck of the gloom?"

"I'm showing him our operation. Us." Buffy said.

"Fine by me. Big fight against evil coming up. The more good guys we've got, the longer we'll all live."

"Is that what you are? A good guy?" Robin asked.

Spike turned from Buffy toward Robin. "I haven't heard any complaints. Well, I have heard a few complaints over the years, but then I just killed whoever spoke up, and that was pretty much that."

"He's joking." Buffy said.

"No, he's not." Robin said.

"No, I'm not." Spike agreed. "But…. that's the old me I'm talking about."

"Why don't you tell me about that?"

"Not much to tell. I've changed."

"Oh, now that you have a soul."

"Yeah. That was a big deal. Very…. private. What, are you just telling everyone now?"

"Oh, come on, Spike. Don't blame Buffy. I asked."

"Right, the educator. Yeah, I went to great lengths. Lots of trouble, and now I'm unique. Well, more or less. Got myself a soul, whatever that means."

"And how's that working out for you?"

"In progress."

"Well, you've had some time. You've been in Sunnydale, what…."

"Years."

"How many?"

"A few."

"Before that?"

"Around."

Buffy stepped up, nearly in between them. "I think we'd better get back upstairs."

"Right. Give him the full tour. You don't want to miss a look at her weapons' chest."

Buffy walked upstairs and Robin followed.

* * *

Buffy and Connor were setting up sleeping bags and pillows in Dawn's room while Buffy talked to Dawn. "So, I took a look inside that emergency bag of Principal Wood's." Dawn said.

"And?" Buffy asked.

"Smelled weird. Kinda like Grandma's closet, but worse."

"I didn't know that was possible. Anything we could use?"

"Trinkets, weapons, one very large textbook." Dawn picked up the book and flipped through it. "Translation's gonna be a bitch, but…. Do you know that ancient Sumerians do not speak English?"

"They're worse than the French. Anything else?"

"Uh, yeah. A box. A big, fat, unopenable box. I'm betting whatever the big deal about this emergency bag is, you'll find it in the box."

"Good. Keep on it. Don't you have any real homework?"

"Oh, you mean, like, schoolwork?"

"Yes." Buffy said, walking into the hallway.

Dawn followed. "Well, I've got a system. It's called flunking out. No, just kidding. I'm paying someone to do my work. I'm kidding. I love to see your eyeballs change color when you think I'm gonna flunk out of…." Dawn cut off with a sharp gasp.

Dawn had followed Buffy down the hall into another bedroom where they found Chloe hung from a bed sheet from the ceiling. Connor heard the gasp and came out to look at what Buffy and Dawn were staring at. Chloe's body hung from the ceiling by a bed sheet twisted around her neck. Kennedy, Rona, and Amanda came out of the bedroom across the hall and joined Buffy, Connor, and Dawn.

"What happened?" Kennedy asked. "We heard…." She gasped and covered her mouth.

"Dawn, get a knife. We're cutting her down." Buffy said.

From out of nowhere, Chloe/The First appeared, standing beside Chloe's hanging body. "Good thinking. But, on the other hand, why rush? Up or down, I'll still be dead."

"You're not Chloe."

"Yeah, well, neither is she, anymore. Now, she's just Chloe's body."

"What did you do to her?" Kennedy asked.

"Nothing! We just talked all night. Well, I did most of the talking, but Chloe is…. I'm sorry, was a good listener. Till she hanged herself. Like when you called her maggot…. she really heard that."

"Don't listen to it, any of you. It's the First." Buffy said.

"Oh, let 'em. The only reason why Chloe offed herself is 'cause she knew what you're not getting. I'm coming, you're going. All this…. it's almost over."

"We'll be here."

"All of you? But wait. I thought…." It changed its voice to sound like Buffy. "They're not all gonna make it. Some will die, and there's nothing I can do that will stop it." It switched back to Chloe's voice. "Hey, I didn't say it. But I'll be seeing all of you. One by one. TTFN." The First disappeared in a flash of light.

"What's TTFN?"

"It's 'ta ta for now.'" Rona said. "It's what Tigger says when he leaves."

"Chloe loved Winnie the Pooh." Amanda said.

"Dawn, where's that knife?" Buffy snapped.


	46. Chapter 46

Chapter 46

Everyone was in the house gathered in the living room for a meeting. The mood was somber as everyone sat in silence, except for the soft sobbing sounds as they mourned Chloe's death. There were approximately ten potentials in the room, plus Willow, Dawn, Anya, Xander, Connor, and Spike. Buffy came into the room carrying the shovel. She had just finished burying Chloe next to Annabelle.

"Is everyone here?" Buffy asked.

"All accounted for." Kennedy said.

"Anyone want to say a few words about Chloe?" There was only silence. "Let me. Chloe was an idiot. Chloe was stupid. She was weak. And anyone in a rush to be the next dead body I bury, it's easy. Just…. think of Chloe, and do what she did. And I'll find room for you next to her and Annabelle. I'm the Slayer. The one with the power. And the First has me using that power to dig our graves." She threw down the shovel angrily. "I've been carrying you…. all of you…. too far, too long. Ride's over."

"You're out of line!"

"No, she's not." Willow said.

"You're gonna let her talk to you like that? Willow, she's not even the most powerful one in this room. With you here, she's not close."

"You're new here, and you're wrong. Because I use the power that I have. The rest of you are just waiting for me."

"Well, yeah, but only because you kinda told us to." Xander said. "You're our leader, Buffy, as in follow the."

"Well, from now on, I'm your leader as in do what I say."

"Ja wohl! But let's not try to forget, we're also your friends."

"I'm not." Anya said.

"Then why are you here? Aside from getting rescued, what is it that you do?"

"I provide much-needed…. sarcasm."

Xander raised hand. "Um, that would kinda be my job, actually."

"You're here because you're scared." Buffy said.

"Same goes for everyone in this room."

"Fine. Anya, all of you, be as scared as you'd like, just be useful while you're at it."

"Come on, Buffy." Willow said. "You know everyone here's doing everything they can."

"The First isn't impressed. It already knows us. It knows what we can do, and it's laughing. You want to surprise the enemy? Surprise yourselves. Force yourself to do what can't be done, or else we are not an army…. we're just a bunch of girls waiting to be picked off and buried." Spike stood and walked toward the door. "Where are you going?"

"Out." Spike said. "Since I'm neither a girl, nor waiting. All this speechifying doesn't really apply to me, does it?"

"Fine. Take a cell phone. That way, if I need someone to get weepy or whaled on, I can call you."

"If you've got something to say…."

"Just said it. You keep holding back, you might as well walk out that door."

"Holding back? You're blind. I've been here, right in it…. fighting, scrapping…."

"Since you got your soul back?"

"Well, as a matter of fact, I haven't quite been relishing the kill the way I used to."

"You were a better fighter then."

"I did this for you. The soul, the changes…. it's what you wanted."

"What I want is the Spike that's dangerous. The Spike that tried to kill me when we met."

"Oh, you don't know how close you are to bringing him out."

"I'm nowhere near him. Dawn, get the potentials upstairs, and break out that emergency kit."

"What are you gonna do?" Dawn asked.

"I'm declaring an emergency." Buffy walked out past Spike without acknowledging him.

* * *

Robin set down the Slayer's emergency kit next to Buffy. "We thought you'd want to be here." She said to him. 

"Yeah, you thought right." Robin said.

Kennedy, Willow, Anya, and Xander went through the contents of the bag. Dawn was reading through the book. "That emergency bag's got some neat stuff in it." She said. "Weapons, charms, advanced reading assignments."

"Yeah, cool stuff, but we've seen it all before." Xander said.

"Well, not this, we haven't." ANya said, pointing to the locked box. "What's inside it?"

"I don't know." Robin said. "It hasn't been opened since…." Buffy broke off the lock with her bare hands. "Well, since now."

Xander pulled out metal figures from the bag. "Puppets. That's it! The First hates puppets! Now if we can just airlift Kermit, Fozzie the Bear, and Miss Piggy into town, the First'll be a-running."

"Those are Muppets." Willow said.

Dawn took the figure from Xander. "And these things are shadow-casters. You put them in motion, and they tell you a story." She looked at the book. "It says you can't just watch, you have to see."

"What does that mean?" Connor asked.

"It's cryptic. I don't like it." Xander said. "Every time instructions get cryptic, someone gets hurt…. usually me."

"You can't just watch, you have to see?" Buffy asked. "See what?"

"That's where all my fancy translating skills break down, but I think it's an origin myth." Dawn said. "The story of the very first Slayer."

"I-I saw her. "

"You saw the First Slayer?"

"The other night…. in my dream. It's gotta mean something, right?"

"Well," Dawn held up the shadow casters. "Let's find out."

* * *

Xander struck a match and lit the wick at the center of a metal mechanical object. In the dark room, the light suddenly filled the room, revealing Dawn, who was holding the book open in her arms. "Ok. According to this, I think…. you put on those puppet guys one by one." She said. "They cast shadows and the shadows tell the story. First, there is the Earth." Xander put the first metal figure on the mechanical object. The light at the center cast a shadow of the figure on the wall. A tribal drumbeat could be heard all around them. 

"What's that sound?" Kennedy asked.

"Ok, so far, so creepy." Xander said.

As Dawn narrated the story, Xander put the corresponding shadow caster figure on the device. "Ok, then there came the demons." He put a representation of a demon on and there were growling sounds. "After demons, there came men." He put a man on there and there were chanting sounds. "Men found a girl." He put on a girl figure and they could hear a girl scream. "And the men took the girl to fight the demon…. all demons. They…. they chained her to the Earth." Xander put in a chain. "And then….and I…. I can't read this. Something about darkness." The shadow casting device started spinning on its own.

"What about darkness?" Buffy asked as the shadow caster device spun, making shadows of the figures on the walls, but the shadows were animated, moving, acting out the story.

"It says you cannot be shown. You cannot just watch, but you must see. See for yourself, but only if you're willing to make the exchange."

"When did you get so good at Sumerian?" Xander asked.

"It's not in Sumerian anymore." The words on the pages of the book were magically changing into English.

Willow and Kennedy stood, alarmed, as the shadow casters told a story of a demon attacking the chained girl. The device spun faster and faster as the shadows moved up the walls. Suddenly, a bright blue light formed at the center of the device, growing in size until it formed a window of light. Buffy walked closer to investigate it.

"But what does it mean?" Xander asked.

"It means I have to go in there." Buffy said.

"No, it doesn't!" Willow said. "Where does it say that? It doesn't say that!"

"Buffy, you don't even know what you're exchanging. You don't know if you're ready yet." Robin said.

"That's the point." Buffy said.

"No. Buffy, we don't know where you're going or how we'll get you back." Connor said. "You can't."

"How will we get you back?" Willow asked.

"Find a way." Buffy jumped through the window of light and disappeared. Before it could close, Connor dove in after her and the portal closed behind him.

Buffy and Connor tumbled through the portal and found themselves in the desert. It looked like where Buffy had gone once before with Giles on the spiritual retreat. The lighting was strange, though. As if brightness and contrast had been turned super-high, giving the scene a supernatural feel.

"Well, guess that worked." Buffy said.

"I think I ate sand." Connor said, spitting sand out.

"What the…. Connor what are you doing here?"

"I wasn't about to let you go by yourself. Besides, if I had and you had ended up stuck here, dad would've killed me." Buffy helped him to his feet. "Where are we?"

She shrugged and was about to say something when she heard chanting nearby. She and Connor exchanged looks and then went to investigate. They walked up to a group of three men dressed in tribal fashion, each holding a tall staff and wearing different colored head-dresses. "Hello? I'm Buffy. I'm the Slayer."

The men were speaking some unrecognizeable language, but for some reason, Buffy could understand them. "We know who you are." Red Hat said.

"And we know why you're here." Black Hat said.

"We've been waiting." Brown Hat said.

"Good." Buffy said. "That's good then. Um, you know, I know we have bigger issues to deal with, but how'd I understand anything you guys just said?" They looked at each other and stood, not answering. "Oh, I know, ancient magicks. I just thought it was neat."

"I don't understand them." Connor said.

"You weren't meant to…. I don't think."

The three men started circling Buffy. "We have been here since the beginning." Red Hat said.

"Now, we are almost at the end." Black Hat said.

"The neat of it just left. End of what?" Buffy asked.

"You are the Hellmouth's last guardian." Brown Hat said.

"Latest. You mean latest guardian."

"No." Red Hat said.

"Ok, um, I have a First to fight, ok. So just tell me what I need to know. I came to learn."

"We cannot give you knowledge. Only power."

"You know what I think? I'm not really here at all. None of this is actually happening. This is like a play. Like some shadow-play. Some non-reality re-enactment hologramy…." One of the men hit Buffy, knocking her out.

Connor jumped to her aid, but they knocked him out too.

* * *

Buffy was groggy and disoriented as she regained consciousness. She was sitting on the ground. She looked around to see Connor was lying on the cave floor a ways away, shackled at his ankles and wrists. 

"What is this?" Buffy stood only to find she was shackled at the wrists and chained to the ground. She struggled against the chains. The three men were standing in front of her in a circle.

"We are at the beginning." Brown Hat said. "The source of your strength. The well of the Slayer's power."

"This is why we have brought you here." Red Hat said.

"I thought I brought me here." Buffy said. "Listen, you guys. I'm already the Slayer, bursting with power. Really don't need any more."

"The First Slayer did not talk so much." Buffy pulled on her chains again. The men started tapping their staves against the ground, rhythmically. That woke Connor up and he tried to stand up, but the shackles brought him back down.

"Buffy!"

"Connor, are you ok?"

The man in the red hat fetched a box and brought it to the center of the circle, where he took off the box top. "Herein lies your truest strength." He said.

"The energy of the demon. Its spirit." Black Hat said.

"Its heart." Brown Hat said.

Buffy struggled against her bonds. "This is how you…."

"Created the slayer?" Red Hat nodded. "Yes." Black smoke came out of the box in long tentacles. It seemed sentient as it danced around the circle. The men kept tapping their staves rhythmically.

"It must become one with you." Brown Hat said.

"No!" Buffy struggled harder against her chains.

"This will make you ready for the fight." Red Hat said.

"By making me less human?"

"This is how it was then. How it must be now."

"This is all there is." Brown Hat said.

Buffy struggled against her restraints in vain as the black smoke came towards her, entering her body through her nose and ears. Connor struggled to break the bonds around him as Buffy screamed as the black smoke tried to enter her body. The men just stood there, watching. The smoke couldn't get in through her head while she was screaming, so it rose to the ceiling of the cave and came back down to her, encircling her hips. Still, she resisted.

"Make this stop!" Buffy gritted.

"This is what you came for." Red Hat said.

"No, this isn't the way."

"Do not fight this." The black smoke headed toward Buffy again.

"You think I came all this way to get knocked up by some demon dust? I can't fight this. I know that now. But you guys? You're just men." Suddenly, Buffy ripped her chains out of the ground just as Connor broke his bonds. "Just the men who did this…. to her. Whoever that girl was before she was the First Slayer." Connor stood at Buffy's side.

"You don't understand."

"No, you don't understand! You violated that girl, made her kill for you because you're weak, you're pathetic, and you obviously have nothing to show me."

Buffy used the chains that were still shackled to her hands as weapons. She swung the chains, at the legs of one man, and the staff of the other. She knocked them down and Connor went after the third one, but they got up again.

Red Hat stayed out of the way of the fight as Connor and Buffy took on the two others. After defeating hers, Buffy walked up to the man in the red hat, holding a staff. She broke it, and the demon smoke disappeared.

"I knew it. It's always the staff." She said as Connor punched out the other man.

"We offered you power." Red Hat said.

"Tell me something I don't know."

"As you wish." Red Hat held his hand to Buffy's head. She saw a large cavern full of Turok-Han. Thousands of them. Then she and Connor were back in her living room staring at Anya, Dawn, Spike, Kennedy, Xander, and Willow.

* * *

Willow opened the door to Buffy's room. Buffy was sitting on her bed, curled up, looking introspective and worried. "How you doing?" Willow asked. 

"Thanks for bringing us back."

"Well, that's what I do." Willow sat on the edge of the bed.

"I was hard on you guys today."

"Aw, it's all right. You needed to be. Although, Twinkies and kisses…. also peachy motivational tools. You ok?"

"I think I made a mistake."

"What?"

"Those men that I met…. you know, the shadow men? They offered me more power, but I didn't like the loophole."

"So, you turned it down? It's ok, Buffy. We'll get by. We always do."

"I don't know. They showed me…."

"Showed you what?"

"That the First Slayer was right…. it isn't enough."

"Why, Buffy? What did you see? What did they show you?"

Buffy told Willow about the cavern full of Turok-Han and watched her friend's face drain of color.

* * *

A/N I PROMISE that Angel will be back in the picture soon. Within the next update of chapters probably. 


	47. Chapter 47

Chapter 47

Buffy sat in her room waiting for word from Willow. She was working on a spell to teleport Faith out of jail. Buffy had talked to the dark-haired Slayer when Faith had called her to tell her she'd been attacked with one of the "wicked-looking knives" Angel had warned her about. Now Buffy was certain it was time to bring Faith in. Especially if she couldn't get a hold of Angel. He had been off the radar for almost a month and Buffy couldn't get away to go find him.

In the last week, the seal had leaked some seriously bad energy and sent the students and teachers of the high school into a riot. Buffy had figured out Andrew's tears were needed to stop the seal. Then, they had worked to deactivate Spike's trigger which resulted in Buffy turning her back on her Watcher. He had let Robin try to take out Spike while Giles distracted Buffy. Now, with Giles on her bad side and Angel out of commission until he contacted her, Buffy needed a fellow Slayer on her side.

Willow had gone up to the town near the jail to perform the spell. She had to be within twenty miles of Faith for it to work. Faith knew all about it and was waiting for it. Willow said she would call when they got into town. Finally she couldn't take it anymore and she grabbed her coat and a few stakes. Grabbing Connor and Spike on her way out, she headed out to patrol, leaving word with Anya to call her cell phone when Willow called.

* * *

A blonde young woman was running at top speed through the cemetery. Spike was pursuing her. She stopped running and looked for a place to hide. Spike punched her, knocking her down to the ground. He knelt down to grab the young woman, but Faith picked him up and threw him into a nearby tombstone.

"Whatcha wanna do to her, vamp?" Faith asked, circling Spike. "Huh? Somthin' like this?" She punched him.

"Nice punch you got there." Spike said. "Lemme guess. Leather pants, nice right cross, doe eyes, holier-than-thou glower…. you must be Faith."

"Oh, goodie. I'm famous."

"Told you were coming. Bit of a misunderstanding here. I'm…."

"Spike. Yeah, we've met before."

"We have? I don't think we…." Faith kicked Spike in the torso. "Bloody hell! What're you doing? I'm on your side."

"Yeah? Maybe you haven't heard. I've reformed." She punched Spike.

"So have I. I reformed way before you did. Stop…. hitting…. me!" Between words, he punched Faith. "We're on the same side."

"Please. You think I'm stupid?"

"Well, yeah."

"You were attacking that girl." Faith punched Spike and then Connor punched Faith in the face, knocking her down.

"Connor!" Buffy cried. "Spike! What's going on?"

"Faith?" Connor looked down at her. "Sorry. I didn't realize that was you."

"It's all right." Faith took the hand Buffy offered her and got to her feet.

Buffy looked at Spike. "You ok?"

"Yeah. Terrific."

"Are you protecting vampires?" Faith asked. "Are you the bad Slayer now? Am I the good Slayer now?"

"He's with me. He has a soul."

"Oh, he's like Angel?"

"No." Spike said.

"Sort of." Buffy said.

"I am nothing like Angel."

"He fights on my side."

"Yeah, well if he's so good, what's he doing chasing down defenseless…." Faith was cut off when the young woman that Spike had been chasing stood up, growled, and attacked Faith, knocking her down.

"That's one of the bad guys." Buffy said.

"You should make 'em wear a sign." Faith fought the vamp woman, and reached around to Buffy's pocket full of stakes. "May I?" She took a stake. "Thanks." Faith continued fighting the vamp woman, then staked her. "Man, that felt good!"

"Angel's dull as a table lamp. And we have very different coloring." Spike pouted.

"Ok, catching up. Anything else I gotta know?"

"That's Angel's son." Buffy pointed at Connor.

"Wait, Angel has a son!? How? When? What the hell!?"

"Willow didn't catch you up in the car?"

"She didn't get too far into it since we found a half dead girl in the road."

"What?"

"Willow's at the hospital with her now. She said she'd call when something happened with the girl."

"Nice to have you back." Buffy said, patting Faith's upper arm.

"Looking good."

"You too."

* * *

Buffy, Faith, Connor, and Spike walked into Buffy's house through the front door. Dawn and Giles were at the dining room table.

"Whoa. Memory Lane. Same old house." Faith said.

"Yeah, well, every piece of furniture's been destroyed and replaced since you left, so, actually, new house." Buffy said.

Dawn stood and walked toward them with her arms crossed. "Buffy?" She looked disapprovingly at Faith.

"We have a new house guest."

"Hey, got a spare bed for a wanted fugitive?" Faith asked. "Or…. At least I'll be wanted when they realize I'm missing from my cell."

"Hello, Faith." Giles said, standing up.

"Well, I guess wanted wasn't really accurate."

"Does she have to stay here? Because there's some nice hotels that welcome tried-to-kill-your-sister types." Dawn said.

"Check it out. Brat's all woman-sized."

"Look, I need to get to the hospital." Buffy said. "Some girl was attacked on her way into town. We think she might be a…."

"We know. Willow's been calling." Dawn said.

"She's still there. She's gonna call if the girl wakes up."

"Fine." Buffy glared at Giles and then walked out of the room.

"Well, Faith, we better, um, see if we can find some place to squeeze you in for the night." Giles and Dawn walked away.

"Not all that tension was about you." Connor said to Faith.

"Giles was a part of a plan to kill me…. for Buffy's own good." Spike clarified.

"Well, that makes me feel better about me, worse about Giles…." Faith looked at Spike. "Kinda shaky about you."

"Faith!" Buffy called from upstairs.

"Yo?" Faith walked up the stairs.

"You can sleep in my room. Connor'll set up another cot for you."

"Another cot?"

"He gave up his room to Willow and a lot of potentials, so he's on a cot in my room."

"Is Angel here?"

Buffy looked at her sharply. "No. Have you talked to him?"

"The last time I talked to him was when he called to tell me about the wicked knives and Bringer people. He said he was going to head down this way in a couple of weeks."

Buffy looked away sadly. "I've been trying to contact him for a month now with no luck. The last time I talked to him, Cordelia was missing and he was searching for her. She was evil."

"I have missed a lot."

Buffy just nodded her head.

* * *

The school bell rang and Principal Wood was sitting at his desk working. Buffy walked up to his office and leaned on the doorjamb. "You look better."

"No, I don't."

"No, you don't."

"But I'll be ok. Unless, of course, you start beating up on me now."

"I won't. Well, I thought about it. I made some doodles. As far as I'm concerned, we're on even ground. I meant what I said. I don't have time for your vendetta, but I need you in this fight. I want you on my side."

"Thanks. That means a lot."

"So, we're good?"

"Absolutely. You're fired."

"What?!"

"Effective immediately."

"You're firing me? I just refrained from kicking your ass."

"Buffy, there's nothing here for you. I mean, people are leaving town, half the kids don't even bother showing up anymore. You've got things to deal with that are much worse than anything here. Look at the big picture."

"Right. The big picture. The one with the big war and the dead little girls."

"Not dead. Not dead. Not if you get them ready."

"I don't want to lead them into war. It can't be the right thing."

"Most wars aren't, you know."

"Some of these girl haven't even been tested in battle."

"Then, I guess, maybe you should test them."

"Couldn't I just come to work part-time? I could make flyers for encounter groups and post them up all over school."

"And you're fired again. Remember, Buffy, the mission's what matters."

"Right. The mission." She sighed and stood up, walking out of the office.

* * *

Buffy stood in the hospital ward where the girl Faith and Willow had found, Shannon, was laying in a hospital bed. She was bruised badly all over her body and covered with bandages. Buffy had gone home, but had to turn around and come here when Dawn told her Willow had called.  
"He was a minister, or something…." Shannon said."At least, he dressed like one. I thought he was trying to save me…. at first."

"He…. he picked you up on the side of the road?" Buffy asked.

"Bringers were chasing me. He said they were his boys…. right before he burned me." Shannon removed the bandage over the burn on her neck. Willow took a digital camera out of her purse and snapped a picture of the burn.

"He wanted to tell you something. Before he…. cut me…. he told me to give the Slayer a message."

"What is it?"

"He said, 'I have something of yours.'"

Buffy's eyes darkened and she nodded. "Thank you Shannon. You'll be safe here. The Bringers won't try anything with hospital security walking around. In fact, I'll talk to the doctors and get them to put extra security on you."

"Thank you."

Buffy smiled and walked out, Willow following. "What do you think it is?"

"I don't know." Buffy said. "I don't care."

* * *

Buffy addressed the room. Everyone was gathered in the living room watching her. "We've got a new player in town. Dresses like a preacher. Calls himself Caleb. Looks like he's working for the First. He's taunting us, calling us out. Says he's got something of mine. Could be another girl, could be something else. Don't know, don't care. I'm tired of talking. I'm tired of training. He's got something of mine? Fine. I'm getting it back, and you guys are coming with me. We need to start arming the girls. I wanna be ready to move when we find him."

"We don't even know where we're going." Willow said.

"That's why I figured we'd do a little recon first." Buffy looked at Faith. "You up for it?"

"Point me where you want me." Faith said.

"And you're certain this is the best course of action?" Giles asked. "You don't even know what this man has of yours…. if he, in fact, has anything."

"It could be a girl, a potential trying to get to us." Buffy said.

"Could be a stapler."

"Going in anyway."

"With the girls? Most of whom have yet to be in the field, let alone in a life or death situation."

"Then it's time we test them. Look, I'll just take the ones that have been here the longest. The rest can stay behind."

"Could be that's just what he wants you to do." Spike said. "The old bait-and-switch."

"Yeah, he lures us away and then kills the girls we leave behind." Willow said.

"I know." Buffy retorted. "That's why I need you to stay here with them. You're my most powerful weapon, Will. I know you can keep them safe if anything happens."

"An unknown man breezes into town, says he has something of yours." Xander said. "Buffy, this thing's got trap written all over it."

"He won't be expecting a full attack…. not this soon, that's why we have to move."

"We know nothing about this man." Giles said. "We cannot go into battle unprepared. We have to have more time."

"Giles, we don't have time. And you're not going into battle. I need you to stay behind with the others. Help the girls who still need a teacher." Buffy turned, grabbed her coat and walked out, Faith behind her. Connor followed them out. "What are you doing?" Buffy asked.

"Coming with you." Connor said.

"No. You're here."

"Why!? They have Spike."

"Connor…."

"You're always leaving me behind! You're just like him."

"That's not fair."

"He doesn't care about me and neither do you. The only thing you care about is…."

"Keeping everyone safe." Buffy cut in. "That includes you. Connor, this is strictly recon. I want you to learn this, but not now. Not when there's so much riding on it."

"This is exactly when you should be taking me out."

"No."

"Buffy!"

"No. Stay here and watch over them. You're my right hand man, Connor. I need you to be where I can't be."

"You're just saying that."

"No, I'm not."

Connor shook his head. "Whatever."

"Connor…." He slammed the door.

"Kids got issues." Faith said.

"You have no idea."


	48. Chapter 48

Chapter 48

Buffy and Faith were following a Bringer, chatting as they went. "No eyes, but look at him go. He got SONAR or something?" Faith asked.

"Or something, I guess. Pretty good when they attack." Buffy said.

"Do they just roam free around town?"

"Well, normally, they show up out of nowhere, and then either stab or get stabbed, and then they run off. Looks like this guy wants to be found."

"Lends weight to the whole 'it's a trap' theory."

"I'm through waiting around for people to attack us."

"Hey, I'm with you. Drop me in the hornet's nest, what the hell? You got a rough sitch here, trying to turn a bunch of little girls into an army…."

"They're potential Slayers, just like we were."

"Right. Maybe they'll do as good as us."

"They're getting better."

"I'll work with 'em. Some of 'em seem real eager. Fashion disasters, yeah, but they're ready to fight."

"Why did you come back?"

"You said you needed me. Didn't give it a lot of thought. Do you…. Am I getting you want me to be not here?"

"No, that's not what I meant. I'm…. glad that you're here. It's good. Thank you."

"No problem. You know me. All about the good deeds." Faith nodded and then looked at Buffy. "Willow said you helped out Angel."

"Yeah."

"How is he?"

"Better. I had to do this whole magical mind-walk with him."

"You were in Angel's mind?" Buffy nodded. "Trippy."

"He was Angelus the whole time, though."

"Yeah. She told me about that. I got worried for you."

"Really?"

"Hey, I've heard the stories of what he did to you before."

"That's not even the tip of the iceburg."

"Buffy…." Faith stopped and looked at the barn-like building that the Bringer walked up to. "What is this place?"

"Look, there's more of them."

"I think we just found our hornet's nest."

"Let's get the cavalry."

* * *

Xander was holding a spiked baseball bat and talking to the potentials. Connor stood against the far wall watching the doorway and waiting for Buffy and Faith to return. "Now remember," Xander said. "We're looking for killing blows only, people. So, chest and throat if it's a vampire. Stomach, chest and face if it's a Bringer."

"What if it's something else?" Rona asked.

"Could happen. Something other-worldly. And here's a handy rule: don't go for the flashy tentacles just because they're waving 'em about trying to get attention. Go for the center. Brains, heart, eyes. Everything's got eyes."

"Except the Bringers." Dawn pointed out.

"Except the Bringers."

"I don't want there to be tentacles." Molly said. "I'm not good with squishy."

"I don't care if it's Godzilla." Kennedy raised a sword. "I want to get in this thing."

"Godzilla's mostly Tokyo-based, so he's probably a no-show." Andrew said.

"Besides, if Matthew Broderick can kill Godzilla, how tough is he?" Amanda said.

"Xander…." Andrew whined, crossing his arms petulantly.

Xander shook his head and sighed. "Matthew Broderick did not kill Godzilla. He killed a big, dumb lizard. That was not the real Godzilla."

"You people are even crazier than her." Rona said.

"Than who?"

"Buffy, man. I mean, taking us right into the bad guy's lair."

"Well, that's where you'd go to find the bad guy." Connor ssnapped. "And I don't think you came here to fight paint chips."

"No, I came here for protection."

"Well, you signed on to fight with…."

"Look, I know, but…. this plan is trouble. Ok, Buffy doesn't care how many of us she puts in danger…."

"Let me tell you something about Buffy." Xander said. "In fact, you should all listen to this."

"Uh, we kinda were." Kennedy said.

"I've been through more battles with Buffy than you all can ever imagine. She's stopped everything that's ever come up against her." Connor saw Buffy and Faith walk through the front door and stop to listen without Xander noticing. "She's laid down her life…. Literally…. to protect the people around her. This girl has died two times, and she's still standing. You're scared? That's smart. You got questions? You should. But you doubt her motives, you think Buffy's all about the kill, then you take the little bus to battle. I've seen her heart, and this time…. not literally. And I'm telling you, right now, she cares more about your lives than you will ever know. You gotta trust her. She's earned it." Andrew and Dawn were crying.

"Damn. I never knew you were that cool." Everyone turned to look at Buffy and Faith.

"Well, you always were a little slow." Buffy said to Faith.

"I get that now."

"All right, let's saddle up." Buffy headed upstairs to her room and Connor followed.

"Buffy." He said.

"Hey Connor."

"Everything all right?"

"Found their hideout."

"Yeah I figured. What are you doing?"

"Calling Angel…. Just to see if he picks up."

"He won't. I tried to reach him about ten minutes ago. Still no answer."

"This isn't like him."

"Maybe they found Cordelia somewhere remote and are out there fighting her."

Buffy shrugged. "Maybe. But I meant calling his cell phone. He always has it on."

"It's probably got a dead battery if he's in a remote location."

"Yeah." Buffy set the phone down. "Let me grab my sword and we'll get out of here."

* * *

Buffy, Faith, Connor, Spike, Xander, Kennedy, Rona, Molly, Chao-Ahn, Amanda, and another potential named Caridad walked up to the front door. Buffy paused to address the team. "Ok. Set up a perimeter. Guard the door. I don't want anything getting in behind us. My team goes in first, we check the place out. You guys are our safety-net. If this place is a trap, we give the signal, you guys come in, guns a-blazing."

"So, what's the signal?" Xander asked.

"I'm thinking lots and lots of yelling."

"Got it."

"Shall we?" Buffy lead a subset of the team inside. Buffy, Spike, and Connor walked down the steps into the wine cellar, followed by Molly, Kennedy, Rona and Chao-Ahn.

"What is this place?" Molly asked.

"Looks like an old vineyard."

"An evil vineyard, huh?" Kennedy asked.

"Like Falcon Crest." Spike said.

"Stay alert, you guys." Buffy said. "Bringers are here somewhere. Just need to find out where."

"Shouldn't be too hard."

Bringers came out of the shadows, from behind the barrels of wine, and attacked Buffy and group. The fight was fairly even until the Bringers stopped fighting and walked back into the shadows. A man in a preacher's getup walked out into the light.

"Well, now, you girls are just burning with righteousness, aren't you? Problem is, you think you're blazing like suns, when really you're burning like matchsticks in the face of the darkness. You having fun? Now, I hope my boys haven't worn you out too much. I need you fit for when I purify you."

"Save the sermon, padre. I heard you have something of mine." Buffy said.

"Well, I do now. You liked my little message, did you? You know, I ruined a perfectly good knife on that girl. Got her soiled blood all over the place. I may have to get a new truck. So, you're the Slayer. The Slayer. The strongest, the fastest, the most aflame with that most precious invention of all mankind…. the notion of goodness. The Slayer must indeed be powerful." With one powerful punch, he sent Buffy flying across the room. "So, what else you got?"

Spike vamped out and he and Connor attacked Caleb. Caleb pushed Spike down with ease. Spike tried to get up, but Caleb head-butted him, then threw him across the room into a huge wine storage tank that busted when Spike hit it. Wine poured out of the tank and washed Spike across the floor. Connor took on Caleb finding he could block the preacher's blows easily, but his weren't effecting Caleb that much. It scared him. Especially if this guy could take Buffy out with a single punch. Behind Connor, Kennedy and the other potentials got into gear and joined the fight.

The Bringers came back out of the shadows to fight the potentials as well. Kennedy stormed Caleb to help Connor but had to engage a Bringer instead. Caleb finally managed to connect with Connor and he sent him across the room into a stack of wine barrels. Then Caleb grabbed Kennedy's neck and tossed her into another stack of wine barrels.

"Kennedy!" Rona ran toward Kennedy, but Caleb cut her off. She swung the spiked baseball bat at Caleb, but he caught it and looked her in the eyes.

"Miss, I do believe you have your own problems you should be worrying about." Caleb broke Rona's arm with ease, sending her reeling back in agony. He chuckled and bent to pick up a knife from the floor. He tossed the knife to a nearby Bringer, who swung it back ready to plunge it into Rona's body. An arrow pierced the Bringer's forearm as he reared back. They turned to look, and saw Xander standing there with a bow. Faith was there beside him. The Bringer left Rona and fought with Xander. "Oh, good. There's more of you." Faith charged at Caleb.

Xander saw Buffy lying unconscious against the wall where she fell when Caleb threw her. "Buffy!" Xander ran to Buffy, fighting off Bringers on his way to her side.

Holding a knife in each hand, Faith engaged Caleb in a fight, but she wasn't seeming to faze him. "Well, you're the other one, aren't you." Caleb said. "Your Cain to her Abel." Faith threw a knife at Caleb, but he easily deflected it. "No offense meant to Cain, of course."

Faith attacked Caleb with her other knife, but he grabbed her arm, twisted it, and crossed it with her other arm in a fashion such that she couldn't move, but was looking right at him. He squeezed her hands until she was forced to drop the knife. Faith grunted at him and kneed him in the crotch, causing Caleb to let go of her just enough so that she could escape his grasp. She backhanded him across the face. "Never was much for the good book." She said.

Caleb grabbed Faith's arm and twisted it painfully behind her back, causing her to double over. She fell to her knees as he twisted and pulled her arm and walked around to the front of her. "Oh, it has its moments. Paul had some good stuff, for instance. But overall I find it a tad complicated." He slapped Faith. "I like to keep things simple." He kicked Faith across the room into the stack of wine barrels that Connor had landed in. "Good folk, bad folk," A potential with long black hair swung at Caleb, but he grabbed her sword, then her face. "Clean folk, Dirty folk…." Caleb snapped the potential's neck and dropped her to the ground.

"No…." Molly yelled.

"Yes." Caleb walked toward Molly.

Xander was at Buffy's side as she recovered and got back into the game. "Xander, get them out of here. We have to retreat. Do it."

Xander left as Caleb walked menacingly toward Molly, who backed up slowly, frozen with fear. She raised her arm back to stab him, but he grabbed her wrist, then her neck. Another potential fought a Bringer. A Bringer threw Amanda against a wall and attacked her. Buffy stood just as Caleb squeezed Molly's neck, lifting her off the floor. Buffy tried to go to her, but Bringers kept attacking her, slowing her down.

"What can I say? I work in mysterious ways." Caleb stabbed Molly and let go of her neck, dropping her to the ground. "Also some fairly straightforward ones."

Enraged at seeing what he did to Molly, Buffy rushed Caleb. She fought him more evenly this time, avoiding his punches, and landing a few of her own. She punched him so hard, Caleb was sent flying across the room.

Spike and Connor grabbed Buffy's arms. "We're all leaving." They pulled Buffy away from the fight.

Xander went to Kennedy's side. "Are you ok?" Kennedy nodded. "Let's go. Come on." Xander helped Kennedy to her feet as Spike escorted Rona out of the building. "Let's go! Come on!"

Caleb grabbed Xander and turned him around so he was facing Caleb. "You're the one who sees everything, aren't you?" He reared his hand back in front of Xander's face. "Well, let's see what we can't do about that." Caleb plunged his thumb into Xander's left eye, gouging it out. Xander screamed in agony. Spike charged Caleb, knocking Xander away from Caleb. Xander, bleeding from his eye, stumbled back, falling to the ground in front of wine barrels.

"Xander! Come on." Buffy and Connor lifted Xander to his feet, and carried him out, one supporting each of his arms. Caleb sat up but didn't pursue them as they walked out. He stood and smiled while watching them leave.


	49. Chapter 49

Chapter 49

Buffy, Connor, and Willow were talking to Xander in his hospital room. Xander's left eye was covered with a bandage. Willow was sitting on the edge of his bed, holding his hand. Connor and Buffy stood next to him.

"And that you should expect to see some bruising when you remove the bandages." Buffy was saying. "Bruising around the…. area. The, uh, bone structure and musculature was hit pretty hard."

"Ok." Xander said.

"Um, also they said that the…. the meds may cause you some stomach discomfort, so we're gonna have to be careful with your diet."

"I can't taste anything right now anyway. I keep waiting for my other senses to improve 50. Yeah, they should kick in any day now."

"Well, we're looking at a possible release as early as tonight. Um, we're just waiting for your labs to get back, and Dr. Kallet said that should be a couple of hours."

"That's great."

"Ok. Um, I think we're all caught up then." Buffy held up the files from the police station Willow had given her. "Thank you for this. This was, um, really great work."

"Oh. I thought we were gonna…. There were gonna be card games." Willow said.

"Oh, no, I just…. I should really get back. I want to get everyone started on this. I think we're really close to something."

"It's ok. It's gotta be done. And I might see you tonight, without depth perception, of course, but…. still."

"So, I guess you're stuck with me then, huh?" Willow asked. "Let's order some cherry-flavored off-brand gelatin, and then I think we'll be up for a rousing game of…."

"I might need a parrot." Xander said.

"Huh?"

"Well, to go with the eye patch, to really complete the look. I think I still have that costume from Halloween."

"Yeah, and don't underestimate the impact of a peg leg. Maybe the hospital can hook you up with a nice one. Maybe they have a 2-body-parts for the price of one kind of deal."

"Oh, you know what the best part is? No one will ever make me watch jaws 3-D again."

"Yeah, and, you'll never have to…." Willow tried to stifle her tears as they welled up in her eyes and she squeezed Xander's hand tighter.

"Oh, Willow…. please don't." Willow looked down, trying to keep her tears from falling. She was desperately trying not to make a scene here, for Xander's sake.

"Buffy…. Is it…. Is it ok if I stay here with Xander and Willow?" Connor asked.

"Sure." Buffy said.

"I'd help you out with that file, but I'm not very good at research."

"No, it's fine, Connor. Is that all right with you guys?"

"Of course." Willow said.

"Watch out, Connor." Xander said. "She might try to teach you how to research properly."

Buffy smiled and started to walk out. "_I'll make sure he's safe with us._" Willow's voice echoed in her head. Buffy turned and nodded at Willow, mouthing a 'thank you.'

* * *

Buffy walked in her front door and called out, "Hey, who's here?"

Dawn walked into the room, concerned. "Hey, Buffy, how's Xander?" Faith, Kennedy, and Amanda walked into the dining room.

"He's doing really well. He's ready to come home, I think." Buffy put down the file on the table and started going through it.

"Whatcha got?" Faith asked.

"Info that Giles and Willow were able to pull off the police database. We figured with Caleb's, you know, overt religiosity thing if we wanna learn more about him, let's find out where he's been."

"'Incidents of violence and vandalism connected to California religious institutions in the last 10 years.'" Faith read. "Looks like this gives us a place to start."

"Yeah. I figure we start with California. We don't find anything there, we'll expand the search. But a guy like Caleb didn't just get in the game. He's been playing for a while, and I wanna know where. Whatever it takes." Buffy looked at Dawn. "You good to help?"

"Well, I was gonna do lots and lots of homework, but darn the luck, they went and canceled school," Buffy handed Dawn papers. "So looks like I got the time."

"Good."

"Hey, Buffy…. How was Xander's mood, you know, exactly? And did you get a chance to talk to the doctor about the meds? Because it seemed like…."

"Hey, pipsqueak, why don't you go get some of the stuff you've already gotten from Giles?" Faith said, noticing Buffy's uncomfortableness.

"Or, um, we can talk about this later, maybe."

"Ok." Buffy said.

"Yeah. I'll be right back."

"Try to find anything that looks like Caleb, his church, his ring…."

"His ability to render a Slayer useless in just one punch." Kennedy said. Buffy looked up, hurt and Faith frowned. "I didn't…. that was stupid. I don't know why I said that."

"Uh, it's ok." Buffy stood up. "Um…. you know, I…. I have to go to the school to pick up the rest of my stuff."

"I really didn't mean…."

"It's fine. Really, it's fine. Don't worry about it. Hey, uh…. isn't Anya doing that thing for you guys today?"

"Yeah. We were. We probably should head down there now."

"Ok. I'll be back soon." Kennedy and Amanda left. Buffy looked at Faith. "See that everyone else gets started on this."

"Yeah." Faith started reading through the files.

* * *

Buffy walked through the empty halls past the cleaned-out lockers. She walked into the school office to her old cubicle and sat at her old desk. She picked up a picture on her desk of Buffy, Willow, and Xander, hugging, from their high school days. They were so happy, smiling in the sunshine. Buffy touched Xander's face and sniffled.

"Oh, now, look…." Buffy looked up to see Caleb standing there right in front of her. "Things don't go exactly your way, so here come the waterworks. Ain't that just like a woman?"

"Get out of here." Buffy snarled.

"Now, now, little girl. Manners. I do imagine that firebrand tongue of yours has inflamed many a man, weak as they are. This here's a, uh…. public school, ain't it? Kinda deserted. Only just, I suppose. Folks work so hard at keepin' the Lord out, and look what happens in return." Buffy backed up to a filing cabinet. "He abandons you." She reached for a drawer in the cabinet. "Not that He could do you much good now, anyway…." Caleb turned to see Buffy trying to reach into the cabinet for something. "Ah, ah, ah. Wouldn't do that were I you, sweet pea. Fightin' back didn't do you much good last time, did it? And how is poor, sweet Xander? Let him know he's in my prayers, and any time he's willin', I'm ready to…. finish the job."

"Go near Xander again, and I will end you."

Caleb pushed over Buffy's desk violently and walked purposefully toward Buffy. "Mind your manners. I do believe I did warn you once. You're angry…. frustrated, scared. I like that in a girl. You really should relax a little. Look at where you are. History's gonna look back at you, at me, at this place, and they're gonna see the glory. Great things are happenin' now, right here. This school, the seal…. it's all gonna be a part of the great sweepin' tide of change, and you're gonna be a part of it. Now, why would you wanna miss that? More importantly, why would you want to get in its way?"

"I guess I'm just ornery." Buffy punched Caleb in the face.

He just laughed at her. "Oh, I knew you'd be a wild one…." Buffy kicked him, but he grabbed her leg and pushed her down. She kicked his shins, but he picked her up off the ground by her neck. "I'm gonna take such sweet pleasure in taming you." He threw Buffy through the window where she landed across the hall, unconscious. "I'll see you soon, little lady." Caleb walked away.

* * *

Buffy walked into an empty house later that night. She had been unconscious for hours. "Hey. Guys, how's it…." She looked around and realized everyone was gone. "Going?"

"Buffy. Are you hurt?" Giles called from the dining room.

"Oh…. Caleb came back looking for seconds." Buffy said, walking in.

"My God, is h-he…."

"Still able to make me see cartoon birdies all around my head? You betcha. The short lack of consciousness was nice. I feel rested. So…. how did those police files work out? Were they helpful?"

"Uh…. uh…. yes. Very much so, I think. Um…. there's evidence that Caleb may have established a foothold up north."

"That's great. That's…."

"I, um…. I sent Spike to look into it."

"Spike? Is this a mission from which you intend Spike to return alive?"

"Yes. I sent Andrew with him."

"Again I ask the question."

"Buffy, you weren't here. Decisions have to be made in your absence."

"Yeah, well, those are the ones that have been scaring me."

"I did what I thought was right."

"You sent away a person that's been watching my back…. again."

"We're all watching your back."

"Funny…. that's not really what it feels like." Buffy stood to walk away.

"Buffy…."

"Where did everybody go?"

"What?"

"Faith. The girls. Where are they?"

"Um…. Faith thought that the girls could do with some time off their studies. I…. I thought…. She took them to the Bronze."

Buffy shook her head, rolled her eyes, and walked out the front door. She walked through the deserted town towards the Bronze. When she got there, she saw Faith kick a man, a police officer, against the hood of his car, and grab the club from another. Faith pressed it against his throat, and knocked him into a wall where he sank down to the ground.

"Faith! What are you doing?" Buffy cried.

"Just blowing off steam." Faith said. "Well, it started that way. Turned when the cops went evil on us." Dawn, Chao-Ahn, Rona, and the other girls came out of the club and gathered around Buffy and Faith.

"Girls, go home. I need to talk to Faith for a minute."

"Buffy, we weren't…." Dawn started.

"Dawn…. you, too. Go." The girls walked away and Buffy looked at Faith. "What is this?"

"They needed a break, all right?" Faith said. "They've been running themselves into the ground. Things just got out of hand."

"Taking a break is one thing. I get blowing off steam, but they were fighting. And those girls were drunk! What were you thinking?!"

"Seemed like a good idea at the time."

"Yeah, what if someone had gotten hurt?"

"They didn't."

"Faith, I need to know that these girls are gonna be safe when I'm not around."

"No one got hurt, B. Look, you don't even know these girls. Maybe you should have a little more confidence in 'em, let them mess up sometimes, you know, get down and dirty. How the hell else are they gonna learn?"

"Learning from your mistakes is one thing. But you don't throw children into…."

"They're not children."

"That really isn't the point."

"Yeah, what about the vineyard?"

"What?"

"How safe were they when you dragged them off to meet Caleb? How safe was Rona or Amanda or Molly?" Enraged, Buffy punched Faith in the face, knocking her down to the ground. Buffy walked away. Faith touched her face and watched Buffy go, but didn't follow.

* * *

Buffy sat on the headstone staring off into the night. It was the quietest Sunnydale had ever been. Well, maybe that's because the town had pretty much been deserted. Buffy had come to the graveyard to cool down from her fight with Faith. Things were bad enough without Faith corrupting the girls like that. And it had also given her time to think and formulate the outline of a plan.

A tingle went down her spine and Buffy smiled with relief. "Heard maybe you needed a hand." A familiar voice said behind her. She closed her eyes for a moment, happy to feel him near her and knowing that he was ok. He moved around in front of her and she stood up off the headstone.

"Angel!"

"You look good."

"You look timely. And also good."

"Well…. at least you could tell me you're glad to see me." Buffy pressed herself against his body and kissed him deeply, relishing in the feel of him. He held tightly to her waist, pulling her even closer to him. After a long, breathless moment, Buffy pulled away from his lips, but still clung to him as he clung to her waist. "Well, I guess that qualifies as 'happy to see me.'"

She gazed into Angel's eyes, smiling. "Angel, I was so…." She shook her head. "Don't even. I just want to bask." She continued to look into Angel's eyes, smiling, for a few seconds, then snapped out of it. "Ok, I'm basked. What happened to you? I've been trying to call you for over a month."

"Yeah…. We tracked down Cordelia."

"And?"

"I, uh…. I had to…."

"Oh, Angel!"

"I was hiding."

"Why?"

"I didn't want to face the world yet. I mean I…. She was one of my best friends. She didn't deserve what happened to her. When I came out of hiding, Wolfram and Hart offered me a deal. They said by destroying Cordelia I had stopped world peace. She was supposed to have carried a Power That Was and by stopping her from getting to Connor, and then stopping her…. I stopped world peace."

"Do you believe them?"

"I don't know."

"Did you take the deal? What was the deal?"

"They offered information on how to save you and Connor from the Hellmouth. But the way Sunnydale looks I feel like I'm not saving the damsel in distress and the deal was a waste."

"Oh, you know me. Not much with the damseling."

"At least tell me you've got your share of distress?"

"More than you know."

"Good. I got coverage on the whole thing. It's very gripping. It needs a third act."

"You have to leave L.A."

"You said it's the First, right? The power that tried to convince me to kill myself."

"Yeah. It's gotten a little more ambitious since then. It's raising an army."

"Yeah, well, it failed once, and I'm here to tell you: It's going to fail again."

"I'm wishing that's gonna come true, but at the rate things are going…."

"What's wrong?"

Buffy told him everything from what happened at the vineyard to earlier in the night with Faith. "And I know they're going to hate me even more soon."

"Why?"

"I want to go back in to the vineyard."

"Why?"

"Caleb made this huge deal about the Seal and the Hellmouth and blahdy blahdy blah…. But he's not guarding it. Why isn't he guarding it? Why is he guarding that vineyard like it's the gateway to paradise for him?"

"Maybe cause it is."

"Exactly."

"So, they're not gonna like this plan?"

"Probably not." She sighed and started to walk, knowing Angel would follow at her side. "I've been really hard on them, but I have to be. They won't survive if I'm not. And Faith…."

"She was just letting them blow off some steam."

"By letting them get drunk at a time like this?" Buffy shook her head. "It's unacceptable. If they want to live through this fight, they have to be at their best."

"I'm not arguing. I agree with you. I was just saying…."

"I know. I don't mean to get down on you." She stopped. "So you're gonna be with me in this?"

"Shoulder to shoulder. I'm yours."

Buffy smiled. "I'm glad."

"Hey, can't let you have all the fun."

Buffy sighed. "Are you staying at the mansion?"

"I didn't really think about it."

"I don't know if you want to stay at my house. It's full of girls."

Angel wagged his eyebrows with a smile. "More fun for me."

She shook her head and laughed. "When did you grow a sense of humor?"

"Huh…. You think I'm funny?"

"Hey, you're a funny guy."

Angel laughed. "I remember." She slipped her hand into his and moved a little closer as they walked to her house. This was what she needed: Angel by her side and giving her strength to move ahead with her scary-as-hell plans.


	50. Chapter 50

Chapter 50

Buffy opened the back door to her house and walked into the kitchen with Angel at her side. Faith was standing at the counter eating a bowl of cereal with the spoon halfway to her mouth. "Angel?"

"He came to join the party." Buffy said.

"Doing ok, Faith?" Angel asked.

"Five by five as always." Faith answered. "What are you doing here?"

"Heard things were bad down here. Offered Buffy a hand and she accepted."

"Yeah, I bet." Faith walked out of the room and Buffy shook her head.

"What was that?"

"She's just pissed about earlier." Buffy said. "Come on." They made it as far as the dining room before Dawn and Giles spotted them.

"Angel!" Dawn rushed up and hugged him tightly.

"Dawn, you look so grown up." Angel said, hugging her tightly back.

"What are you doing here?"

"Came to help." He looked up at Giles.

"Angel." He said.

"Giles."

"I'm glad you're here. We could use all the help we can get."

Angel nodded and looked at Buffy. It was Dawn who broke the tense silence. "Xander's coming home soon. Connor and Willow called. Everyone's in the living room waiting."

"I guess we should head in there then." Buffy said. She allowed Giles and Dawn to go in first and Buffy shot Angel a nervous look.

He smiled and squeezed her hand reassuringly. "You'll be ok."

There was a hastily made yellow banner painted with WELCOME HOME in big red letters hanging over the fireplace in the living room. Just as Buffy and Angel walked into the room, Willow and Connor escorted Xander in the house with Faith and Robin Wood following, closing the door behind them.

"Angel?" Willow asked.

"He's here to help." Buffy said.

"Hi dad." Connor hugged his father, grateful to have him around for the first time in a long time.

"Angel, this is Robin Wood. Former principal of the new and abandoned Sunnydale High."

"Glad to finally meet you. I've heard a lot about you." Robin said.

Xander looked around. "Oh, God."

"We didn't have time to do more." Kennedy said. "You have to pretend there's a big party here."

"That's fine. Parties in this house, I usually end up having to…. rebuild something." Xander looked at Angel. "Hey, Dead Boy."

Angel decided to ignore the old nickname and nodded at Xander. "Glad you're ok."

"Guess Buffy filled you in on everything, huh?"

Angel nodded and looked at Buffy. She smiled slightly at Xander and said, "Welcome home, Xander. I wanted you to be here for this. I think you'll be interested in what I found out."

"W-what did you find out?" Willow asked.

"It's about the cellar." Everyone paused and Angel felt the sudden apprehension in the air. "Look, I know that night wasn't fun for any of us…. but I figured out some things about that place, and I realize now what we have to do." She discreetly reached back and took Angel's hand, making sure no one could see their hands clasped tightly. "We're going back in."

"What?" Giles asked.

"Look, I know what you're thinking, but I had a visit at the school today from Caleb."

"Buffy, why didn't you…." Dawn started.

"I'm fine. I mean, it wasn't fun, but I'm fine. I'm better than fine. I figured something out. He kept making all this noise about the school…."

"Is it that seal again?" Robin asked.

"Do we need to try shutting it again?" Willow asked.

Buffy shook her head. "No, that's just it. We've spent all this time worrying about the seal and the Hellmouth. Why isn't Caleb guarding them? Why doesn't he have someone there protecting it? Why is he camped out at the vineyard? The bad guys always go where the power is. So if the seal was so important to Caleb and the First, they would be there right now. They're protecting the vineyard or something at the vineyard. I say it's their power, and I say it's time we go in and take it away from them."

Xander shook his head and looked down and Giles uncrossed his arms and sighed. Buffy knew what they were thinking. It was Faith who gave voice to the thoughts. "Or, in the alternative, how 'bout…. we don't? I mean, it's a neat theory, B, but I'm not going back in that place, not without proof, and neither should you and neither should they."

"I'm not saying it's gonna be easy."

"I think Faith had the floor." Robin said.

Buffy started to retort, but Angel squeezed her hand. She didn't have to look at him to know that he was still on her side, he was just letting the others voice their opinions.

"Maybe it ends ok the way you wanna play it, but maybe it doesn't." Faith said. "And right now, I don't think I want you playin' the odds. Listen, we're fighters, all of us, but you gotta give me something to fight, something real, not…."

"Windmills." Giles said, looking at Buffy.

"There is something there." Buffy insisted.

"Maybe. But we can't be sure of that. This is a hell of a lot to ask."

"Too much." Robin said.

Buffy looked at Angel and then back at the room of people. "I…. I don't understand this. For 7 years, I've kept us safe by doing this…. exactly this, making the hard decisions. And now, what? Suddenly you're all acting like you can't trust me?"

"Didn't you say to me today you can't trust us?" Giles asked. "Maybe there's something there that should be addressed."

"Is that why you sent Spike away, to ambush me?"

"Oh, come on."

"You know what?" Rona spoke up. "I am sick of your deal with this Spike guy. This isn't about him. This is about you. You're being reckless."

"What?" Buff asked.

"You are! I don't even know you, and I can tell! You are so obsessed with beating Caleb, you are willing to jump into any plan without thinking."

"That's not what I'm doing."

"Well, that's how it feels to us." Kennedy said. "People are dying."

Willow stood and walked up to Kennedy. "Kennedy…."

"Why are you always standing up for her?"

"I'm not."

"What do you mean, you're not?" Buffy asked.

"With everything that's happened, I…. I'm worried about your judgment."

Buffy held onto Angel's hand tighter and he squeezed back, knowing that she didn't need his voice, just his support. "Look, I wish this could be a democracy. I really do. Democracies don't win battles. It's a hard truth, but there has to be a single voice. You need someone to issue orders and be reckless sometimes and not take your feelings into account. You need someone to lead you."

"And it's automatically you." Anya asked. "You really do think you're better than we are."

"No, I…."

"But we don't know. We don't know if you're actually better. I mean, you came into the world with certain advantages, sure. I mean, that's the legacy."

"I…."

"But you didn't earn it. You didn't work for it. You've never had anybody come up to you and say you deserve these things more than anyone else. They were just handed to you. So that doesn't make you better than us. It makes you luckier than us."

"She's gotten you this far." Connor snapped.

"But not without a price." Xander said.

"Xander…." Buffy started.

"I'm trying to see your point here, Buff…. but I guess it must be a little bit to my left….Cause I just don't."

"Look, I'm willing to talk strategy, ok, I'll hear suggestions on how to break this down, but this is the plan. We have to be together on this or we will fail again."

"We are clearly demonstrating that we are not together on this!" Giles snapped.

"Which is why you have to fall in line! I'm still in charge here."

"Why is that, exactly?" Rona asked.

"Because I'm the Slayer."

"And isn't Faith a Slayer, too?"

"What?" Faith asked, caught off guard. "Whoa, whoa, whoa. So not what I meant. I'm not in charge chick. I think B here needs to just…. chill out for a little bit, take a siesta or something. But I'm not the one you want."

"Maybe we need a vote." Kennedy said. "To see who wants Faith to have a turn in charge."

"No." Buffy said.

"No, what?"

"No. You don't get to vote until I've had my chance to pal around, you know, get everybody drunk. See, I didn't get this was a popularity contest. I should have equal time to bake them cookies, braid their hair…."

"Learn their names?" Faith asked.

Buffy turned on Faith. "You're just lovin' this, aren't you?"

"You have no idea what I'm feeling."

"Come in here, take everything that I have…. You did it before. Did you tell them that? Did you tell them how you used to kill people for fun? Hey, you guys think that's nifty?"

"Buffy." Angel said softly. She turned to him, near tears and thinking he was turning on her too. "I'm on your side here, I am." He said into her ear so no one else could hear him. "Just listen to them for a minute and then take charge again. You're a good leader. We both know that and they have to learn that."

"I didn't come here to take anything away from you, but I'm not gonna be your little lapdog, either." Faith said. "I came here to beat the other guy, to do right, however it works. I don't know if I can lead. But the real question is…. can you follow?"

"So we vote." Robin said.

"Wait. Guys…" Buffy looked around and searched their faces. "I can't watch you just throw away everything that…. I know I'm right about this. I just need a little…. I can't stay here and watch her lead you into some disaster."

"Then you can't stay here." Dawn said, walking up to Buffy. "Buffy, I love you, but you were right. We have to be together on this. You can't be a part of it."

Buffy shook her head. "No." She looked up at Angel and Connor and then moved to the middle of the room. "You get out."

"What?" Kennedy asked.

"I said get out."

"Buffy…." Dawn started. "This is my house too…."

"Get out of my house. All of you. If you're not with me, then you're against me and I can't have that. I know I'm right and if you can't accept that, then get out of my house."

"Buffy, you're being unfair…." Giles started.

She wheeled on him. "Unfair? How fair is it for you to turn on me after seven years and try to kick me out of my own house? My mother left ME this house. **_I_** pay the bills. **_I_** keep this place going. **_I_** make the rules here. You wanna do your own thing? Fine. But do it somewhere else because you're not welcome here. Get. Out." She crossed her arms and waited. After a long moment, the Potentials stood and filed out the front door slowly. Then, even more slowly, her friends, Faith, Robin, and finally Dawn followed leaving Angel and Connor to stand with Buffy.

She stood in the deserted living room and closed her eyes. Behind her, Angel shut the door and locked it. She turned to him and looked up at him with tears in her eyes. "You're ok, Buffy. I won't leave you." He said.

"Neither will I." Connor said.

She shook her head. "I never thought…." Buffy sighed. "So, now what?"

Angel smiled and took her hand. "You need some rest before you can take this guy on. From what you told me, he's pretty strong. I know you. You fight better with rest and confidence behind you."

Buffy shook her head. "After what just happened…. My confidence level is well below rock bottom."

"Hey." He took her hands in his and made her look him in the eyes. "It took a lot of confidence to stand up for what you know is right."

"And tell the people I love to get out?"

"That's their problem now." Connor said. "You gave them a choice and they chose their own way."

"I feel like rolling over and sleeping until this is over."

"You're not a quitter." Angel said.

Buffy shook her head. "This time…. I don't know anymore. What if they were right? I mean…. Look at what's happened. I say the word, some girl dies…. every time. Maybe…."

"There's always casualties in war."

"Casualties. It just sounds so…. casual. These are girls that I got killed. I cut myself off from them…. all of them. I knew I was gonna lose some of them and I didn't…." She looked up at Angel watching her intently. "You know what? I'm still making excuses. I've always cut myself off. I've always…. Being the Slayer made me different. But it's my fault I stayed that way. People are always trying to connect to me, and I just slip away."

Before anyone could say anything more, the power went out. Angel chuckled. "I guess the Sunnydale Power Company got the hell out of town."

"I'll get some candles." Connor said, walking towards the kitchen.

"I'll help." Buffy said, starting to follow.

"No." Angel grabbed her hand and pulled her back. "Come on." Angel led her up the stairs and towards her room. He held the door for her and watched as she lit a couple of candles around the room. Angel decided to light the rest, of which there were many, and then sat down next to her on the bed. "Buffy…."

"Yeah?"

"You never slipped away from me. We're…. You…. I…. You know, I've never been at a loss for words."

"What are you trying to say?"

He sighed. "I've been alive a lot longer than you, and dead a lot longer than that." Buffy stared at him, confused. "I've seen things you couldn't imagine, and done things I prefer you didn't. I don't exactly have a reputation for being a thinker, so I make a lot of mistakes. 200 plus years, and there's only one thing I've ever been sure of: you."

"Angel…."

"You never slipped away from me. You couldn't. God knows we've both tried to, but…. We're soulmates." Buffy looked away and he reached toward her face; gently bring her back to look at him. "Hey, look at me. I'm not asking you for anything. I wouldn't deserve whatever I asked of you, anyway." He sighed. "All those times I said 'I love you,' it was never because I wanted you or because I couldn't have you. It has nothing to do with me. I love what you are, what you do, how you try. I've seen your kindness and your strength. I've seen the best and the worst of you. I've been the cause of the worst of you. And I understand exactly what you are. You're one hell of a woman. You're the one, Buffy."

"I don't wanna be the one."

Angel smiled. "We can't help but accept the burdens given to us." She huffed lightly with a smile. "What I'm getting at is that…. No matter how low you feel and how disconnected you feel from everyone…. You're always connected to me. I can feel you wherever I go. And I want you to know that you don't ever have to feel alone or afraid because the minute you start to feel that way, I'll know and I'll be there for you. I'll always be on your side. I trust your judgment because I know you better than anyone of those people. Even your closest friends."

"You haven't even been here."

"That doesn't matter. Every call you make, even the bad ones, has resulted in the greatest of outcomes. You've saved the world countless times because you trust your instincts and you know they're right. So don't let a few rebellious, lazy teens make you doubt yourself." He placed his hand on her cheek and she moved her face into his palm, kissing his wrist.

"I'm so grateful you came." She was unconsciously leaning towards him and he was drawn into her lips. After long, breathless moments, she pulled away and laid her head on his shoulder blade, allowing him to wrap his arm around her shoulders.

"Come on, you need rest." He slipped his shoes off and then helped her out of hers. They laid down on top of the covers, wrapped in each other's arms, and drifted off into sleep. Out in the hall, Connor walked into his room and laughed giddily. He jumped on his bed in his room and burrowed into his covers. He was happy to finally have his bed back and the house no longer filled to the brim with girls that weren't Buffy.


	51. Chapter 51

Chapter 51

A couple of hours later, Buffy woke up and looked up at Angel's peaceful, sleeping face. She gently detangled herself from his arms and slipped down the hall to check on Connor. He was sleeping peacefully as well in his bed. Buffy went down to the kitchen to get something to drink before she headed back to bed. The front door opened and Spike and Andrew walked in.

"We're back!" Andrew called, walking in the dining room.

"Shh. In here." Buffy called softly.

Spike and Andrew walked in and Spike looked at her. "Hey." She smiled at him.

"Hi. I missed everyone a lot. Sorry it took so long to get back from our mission-mission, but we had to wait out the sun. Well, I think our mission went very well. We, uh, we rode on Spike's hog, which was very cool, and, uh…. uh, played some amusing games, and…. oh! We got some new information. You know what? I really need to urinate." He rushed out of the room.

"He's a breath of fresh air, isn't he? Thank god I don't breathe." Spike said. "So, I think we got a lead. Where is everyone?"

"I made them leave." Buffy said.

"Good for you. Get some quiet, Buffy time."

"No. They turned against me and tried to kick me out of my house."

"Pardon?" Buffy nodded. "That's right bloody swell of them, eh? Those sad, sad, ungrateful traitors. Who do they think they are?"

"They're just scared and confused. Can't say I blame them."

Spike started to say something, but stopped, staring at Buffy. "What's this, then?"

"What?"

"Where is he?"

She rolled her eyes. "The rivalry between you two will never end will it?" He didn't say anything. "He's upstairs sleeping right now."

"Sleeping where?"

"Spike…."

"I'm just asking."

"It's a loaded question and I don't have my armor on."

"So, he's in your bed, is he?"

"Why are you pressing this? We're not together. I'm not even with Angel…. I don't think."

"But you want to be."

"Stop making a big deal out of this. He's here to help."

"You don't have to get shirty about it."

"I'm not shirty. And what is shirty? That's not even a word." Spike looked away. "You're a dope."

"I'm a what?"

"You're a dope. And a bonehead. And you're shirty."

"Have you gone completely carrot-top?"

"Look, I am tired of defensiveness and weird, mixed signals. You know, I have Faith for that. Let's just get to the truth here, ok? We had a relationship…."

"I thought we still did."

She shook her head. "I don't even know anymore what we have. You've been my closest ally through all of this and I trust you. But…. I don't know."

"God, I'm such a jerk. I can't do this."

"Spike…."

"I love you Buffy. You'll probably never understand the extent of it, but I do. I don't want you as just my friend!" He sighed. "But as long as he's around…. I'll never know if you love me back because all you can see is him."

"I never meant for it to go as far as it did between us."

"What are you saying?"

"I don't know!"

"I've lived for soddin' ever, Buffy. I've done everything. Done things with you I can't spell, but…. I've never…. been close…. to anyone. Least of all, you. 'Till the last few months."

"Why?"

"Because you stood there at my side and you actually saw me. When you used to look at me, you wouldn't look at me….. You looked through me. But the night you told the Initiative blokes to take that chip out and when I heard you tell Giles you took it out because you knew I was a good man…. It was the best moments of my life and I'm terrified now because of it."

"You don't have to be."

"What does that mean?"

"I don't know. Does it have to mean something?"

"No. Not right now."

"Maybe when…."

"No." Spike threw up his hands. "Let's just leave it. He's here now and you've got him and you'll never look at me because he's here and because you've got him." He turned away from her and walked out the back door.

* * *

Upstairs, Angel listened intently to the conversation between Buffy and Spike. He wondered if Buffy had started her relationship with Spike again while she waited for Angel. When the door opened and Buffy walked into the room, he pretended to be asleep. She walked around, making sure the windows were covered so he wouldn't burn in the coming sunlight, and then changed into her clothes and left. He spent all day sitting in the dark room thinking over what he felt about Buffy's relationship with Spike. Then, to take his mind off of it, he grabbed the folder Lilah had given him when he took over Wolfram and Hart. He held the amulet up the light from the candles and stared at it before diving in to the tedious work of translating and decoding the papers in the file.

Connor came into the room at around eleven looking for Buffy. "I don't know where she went, son." Angel said.

"What are you looking at?" Connor asked.

"These files I was given to help Buffy out."

"Is that necklace for her?"

"I'm not sure."

"I don't think she'll like it."  
Angel laughed. "It's a little gaudy isn't it?"

"Will you come downstairs and eat lunch with me? Andrew's down there and he's talking my ear off about something called Star Wars. It sounds like a battle that was fought in another dimension, but I'm not sure. What's a light saber?"

Angel shook his head, laughing. "It's a popular series of movies, Connor."

"A light saber is?"

"No. Star Wars. A light saber is like their sword. It comes in different colors." Angel stood up. "I'll save you from the eventual death from boredom. Star Wars wasn't really my thing."

At about one in the afternoon, the door banged open and frightened voices floated into the kitchen. Angel and Connor rushed into the dining room to be greeted by the sight of wounded teenage girls. Buffy was moving around the room carrying a large scythe and ordering the Potentials around. The living room was being turned into an impromptu triage unit as the healthy ones treated the wounds of the girls that were hurt.

"Will, come here. She's losing a lot of blood." Buffy called.

"Got it." Willow went to the side of the girl Buffy was attending. Giles and Xander carried an unconscious Faith through the front door and up the stairs. Kennedy and Amanda stood in the doorway, concerned, as Buffy went to supervise.

"What happened?" Angel asked Buffy as she raced past him.

"They were ambushed. Is my room ok?" Buffy asked.

"Yeah, of course."

Buffy looked at Giles and Xander. "The room upstairs is ready for her."

"Good." Giles said.

"I hope we're in time." Xander said.

"Is she ok? Is she gonna be ok?" Amanda asked.

"I'm sure she'll be fine, right?" Kennedy said.

"Careful!" Xander barked.

"Just mind her head." Giles said.

"Angel?" Buffy asked.

Angel jumped in front of Giles and Xander and took Faith in his arms. "I've got her."

"I'll be up in a second."

"You guys heal fast, right? You Slayers?" Kennedy asked Buffy.

"Yeah."

"So…. she'll be ok?"

"I don't know."

"What's with the axe thing?" One potential asked.

"I took it from Caleb. It might be important."

"Let's hope." Vi said.

"I think we got punished." Amanda said.

"What?" Buffy asked.

"We, uh…. we followed her." Kennedy said. "And it was…."

"It didn't work out." Vi finished.

"You guys, it was a trap. It's not her fault. That could've just as easily happened to me."

"So are you…. are you, like, back?" Caridad asked.

"I don't know. I guess." Buffy grabbed a first-aid kit and her new weapon and headed up the stairs.

"So, we got a plan now, or anything?" Kennedy asked.

"Yeah, there's a plan. Get ready. Time's up." Buffy headed into her room where Giles was taking Faith's pulse.

"Is she breathing ok?" Xander asked.

Giles nodded. "Still unconscious, though."

"We've still got work to do." Buffy said, hefting the scythe. "Giles, Angel, come with me. Xander…." She tossed him the First Aid kit. "The rest of you, out. Downstairs. Someone get Willow up here."

Angel grabbed Buffy's elbow in the hallway and she looked up at him. "You ok?"

"Never better. Why?"

"Just checking."

* * *

Buffy held up her new weapon. "I think it's maybe some kind of scythe. The only thing I know for sure is it made Caleb back off in a hurry."

"So it's true. Scythe matters." Willow said, pushing Giles playfully.

"And, ignoring that, I'd just like to point out this is really quite ingenious." Giles said, playing with the weapon.

"Kills strong bodies 3 ways." Bufy said.

"And you say you sense something when you hold it?" Angel asked.

"Not much, but it's strong. And I knew it belonged to me. I just knew it."

"In addition to being ancient, it's clearly mystical." Giles said.

"Yeah, I figured that one out when I King Arthured it out of the stone."

"So maybe it's like some kind of traditional Slayer weapon." Willow said.

"I can't imagine how something like this could exist without my having heard of it." Giles said.

"Or me." Angel interjected.

"Well, the good guys are not traditionally known for their communication skills." Buffy said. Angel smiled as Giles cleared his throat.

"Right. Um…." Giles sat on the bed. "Any chance that it might be something other than a tool for killing things?"

"The First's guys clearly wanted it out of that stone. It's not just a tool. It's important. We need to find out whatever we can. Who made it, when, why? Does it have a name? I don't know, a credit report? Just find out fast."

"We'll start work immediately."

"Yeah, don't worry, Buff. We'll find out everything there is to know." Willow said as she opened her laptop.

"Good, because right now, that thing's all we've got going for us." She walked out and into the bathroom. For once it was empty and peaceful.

Angel walked in and closed the door. "Anything you need help with?"

She shook her head. "Not from you."

"Ouch."

"I only meant…. Dawn. She needs to not be here."

"She can head to LA. I'm sure the gang would put her up there."

"She can't drive herself."

"Are you asking me to take her?"

"No. I'm going to ask Xander."

* * *

Buffy and Xander stood across the island from each other in the kitchen while Angel and Connor sat in the dining room waiting for them to come out.

"You got it?" Buffy asked.

"Wait. I'm not to the 'got it' place yet. I'm still in the neighborhood of 'you've gotta be kidding'." Xander said.

"You know it's for the good."

"I don't. Buffy, do you get that? If I do this, that's it for me for this fight. I feel like you're putting me out to pasture."

"Of course I'm not putting you out to pasture. What does that even mean?"

"Well, you know, it's like, uh…. when a cow gets old and loses an eye, or its ability to be milked, the farmer takes it and puts it in a different pasture so it won't have to…. fight…. with the priests. Look, I don't need you to protect me."

"I'm not."

"I feel like you're replacing me because he's here."

"Xander…."

"I got hurt, but I'm not done. I can still fight."

"I know. That's why I need you to do this. Xander, I need someone that I can count on no matter what happens."

"I just always thought that I would…. I would be there with you…. you know, for the end."

"Hey!"

"Well, not that this is the end."

"Thanks a lot."

"No, no, no. By the end, I meant, uh…. a heroic, uplifting way. See, I'm still optimistic. You're just thrown off a little by this gritty-looking eye patch."

"I know what you meant."

"I should be at your side. That's all I'm saying."

"You will be. You're my strength, Xander. You're the reason I made it this far. I trust you with my life. That's why I need you to do this for me."

"Ok."

Buffy smiled and started to walk to the dining room. "Also, you can't shoot a bow and arrow anymore, and every time you pick up a sword, I worry that you're gonna break one of our good lamps."

"Hey!"

"Don't look at me. You're the one who said I'm gonna die."

"I never said you were gonna die. I…. I implied that you were gonna die. It's totally different."

"Yeah, ok. Sure."

"Besides, if you die, I'll just bring you back to life." Xander looked at Angel. "That's what I do."

"I remember." Angel said with a smirk.

"I wonder what Giles and Willow have found." Buffy said.

"Let's go find out."

She smiled and followed Angel up the stairs with Connor close behind. Her weapon was leaning against the bed and Giles was pacing behind Willow who was typing away at the computer. "It's a scythe for sure. Lucky break, though." Willow said.

"What's that?" Buffy asked.

"The people that built the weapon buried it here in Sunnydale and then pretty much buried themselves here."

"Huh?"

"There's a pyramid-like structure in The Sunnydale Rest Cemetery, yes?" Giles asked. Buffy nodded. "It's the entrance to a pagan temple that could provide more answers about your scythe."

"Good." Buffy picked up her scythe and smiled at the power of it coursing through her veins.

"Oh, Faith's awake."

"Really?" She looked at the scythe and looked at the door. "I think I'll go say 'hey, check out my badass weapon.'"

Angel chuckled and met her in the hall. "Want me to come with?"

"Only if you want." They left Connor standing in his room with Willow and Xander. He was checking out the scythe. Buffy knocked on her own bedroom door and then walked in. "Hey."

"Yo, B. Angel." Faith's eyes hit the scythe in Buffy's hand. "Huh. Are we duking it out then? Cause I'm always up for a fight, but personally…."

"No. It's…. Here." She handed the weapon to Faith and the darker Slayer almost jumped at the power that came from the weapon. "You feel it too, don't you?"

"Damn. And damn, that's something."

"I know."

"It's old. It's strong, and it feels like…. like it's mine." Faith placed it on the bed beside her. "I guess that means it's yours."

"It belongs to the Slayer." Buffy picked up the scythe.

"Slayer in charge, which, I'm guessing, is you."

"I honestly don't know. Does it matter?"

"It never mattered to me. Somebody has to lead. Let's vote for Chao-Ahn. It's harder to lead people into a deathtrap if you don't speak English."

"It wasn't your fault." Angel said.

"I'm really not looking for forgiveness."

"You're not?"

"What do you want me to say? I blew it. I don't need a pep talk now."

"You didn't blow it." Buffy said.

"Tell that to…."

"People die. You lead them into battle, they're gonna die. It doesn't matter how ready you are or how smart you are. War is about death. Needless, stupid death."

"So, here's the laugh riot. My whole life I've been a loner."

"That's the funny part? Did I miss something?"

"I'm trying to…."

"Sorry. Sorry. Go."

"No ties, no buddies, no relationships that lasted longer than…. well, Robin lasted pretty long. Boy's got stamina."

"Principal Wood? And you?"

"Don't tell me you two got wriggly."

Buffy looked at Angel and felt suddenly guilty that she and Robin had gone on a date. "No. No. No, no. We're just good friends. Or mortal enemies, depending on which day of the…. Was that the funny part?"

"Ok. The point. Me, by myself all the time. I'm looking at you, everything you have, and, I don't know, jealous. Then there I am. Everybody's looking to me, trusting me to lead them, and I've never felt so alone in my entire life."

"Yeah." Buffy swallowed and looked down.

"And that's you every day, isn't it?"

"I love my friends. I'm very grateful for them. But that's the price. Being a Slayer."

"There's only supposed to be one. Maybe that's why you and I can never get along. We're not supposed to exist together."

"Also, you went evil and were killing people."

"Good point. Also a factor."

"But you're right. I mean, I…. I guess everyone's alone. But being a Slayer? There's a burden we can't share."

"And no one else can feel it." Faith nodded. "Thank God we're hot chicks with superpowers."

"Takes the edge off."

"Comforting."

"Mm-hmm."

Angel glanced out the window. "Buffy." She looked at him. "It's dark out. You want me to come with to the cemetery?"

"Uh. Yeah."

"I'll meet you downstairs then." Angel nodded at Faith and walked out.

"Damn, B." Faith said.

"What?" Buffy asked.

"After all this time…. That boy's still got it bad for you."

"Pft. Feeling's mutual."

"Then toss him in the dirt and take him for a ride."

Buffy almost choked. "Faith…."

"I know the score, but damn…. You two…. You've got the big forever love."

"It's a lot more complicated than that." Faith didn't say anything, just nodded.

"I swear, you walked into his life all blonde hair and sunshine and you look at him now. You two… You're lives are mixed in there together. Guess that's one of the reasons I'm so jealous of you because you say you're alone, but then I only have to look in either of your eyes and know that you're not. You have him no matter where you are or what you're doing. And that vice is versa for him."

"Thanks." Buffy walked out of the room carrying her scythe at her side.


	52. Chapter 52

Chapter 52

Angel walked beside Buffy and stayed silent most of the way. He had heard Buffy and Faith's conversation and was still wondering about her comment that it was more complicated than that. He was also considering when to give Buffy the file that Wolfram and Hart had given him. It wasn't too clear on the effects of what it all meant. Connor had opted to stay behind to be the muscle in case Caleb decided to make an appearance at the house.

"I missed this." Buffy said suddenly.

"What?" Angel stopped and looked down at her.

"This. Patrolling with you. It's been a long time."

"Well, it's not completely like old times."

"It's not?"

"Well, for starters, you've traded in Mr. Pointy for something way cooler."

"And?"

"And we're not making out or spending most of our time groping each other."

"We didn't ALWAYS grope and make out. We patrolled….. Some." She laughed. "Is this your way of asking me to make out with you."

"What? No. This is serious work we're doing."

"So, you don't want to make out with me?"

"Stop twisting my words."

"That's what you said."

"Can we just not spend this time together arguing?"

"Fine by me. Besides, we're here." She opened a gate, walked up to a pyramid shaped tomb, and kicked down the door.

"Buffy…."

"Yeah?"

"Be careful."

Buffy nodded and walked down into the tomb. It was lit inside, although dimly, by torches, giving it an orange hue. Buffy looked around cautiously.

A woman's voice came from behind a drape. "I'd forgotten. I'd forgotten how young you would be." The woman opened the drape, and Buffy saw a very old woman with long white hair standing before her. "Comes from the waiting. Mind plays tricks. I see you've found our weapon."

"Who are you?"

"One of many. Well…. time was. Now I'm alone in the world."

"So what are you? Some kind of ghost?"

"No. I'm as real as you are. Just…. well…. let me put it this way: I look good for my age. I've been waiting." She held out her hands and Buffy handed over the scythe. "You pulled it out of the rock. I was one of those who put it in there."

"What is it?"

"A weapon. A scythe. Forged in secrecy for one like you who…. I'm sorry. What's your name?"

"Buffy."

"No, really." Buffy shrugged. "We forged it in secrecy and kept it hidden from the Shadow Men, who…."

"Yeah. Met those guys. Didn't really care too much for 'em."

"Ahh, yes. Then you know. And they became the watchers. And the watchers watched the Slayers. But we were watching them."

"Oh! So you're like…. what are you?"

"Guardians. Women who want to help and protect you. We forged this centuries ago, halfway around the world."

"Hence, the Luxor Casino theme."

"Forged there, it was put to use right here…. to kill the last pure demon that walked upon the Earth. The rest were already driven under. And then there were men here, and then there were monks. And then there was a town, and now there was you. And the scythe remained hidden."

"I don't understand. How is it possible that we didn't know any of this?"

"We hid, too. We had to until now. We're the last surprise."

"Does this mean I can win?"

"That is really up to you. This is a powerful weapon." She handed the scythe back to Buffy.

"Yeah."

"But you already have weapons."

"Oh."

"Use it wisely and perhaps you can beat back the rising dark. One way or another, it can only mean an end is truly near." Suddenly, the woman's head cocked slightly to the side, and a cracking noise could be heard. The woman fell to the ground and Buffy looked up to see Caleb standing there.

"I'm sorry." He said. "I didn't catch that last part on account of her neck snapping and all. Did she say the end is near…. or here?" Buffy swung the scythe at Caleb, but he grabbed it with ease, pushing her away. They exchanged bone crushing punches and kicks, but Caleb was much stronger than before. He tried to punch Buffy, but she ducked and he instead punched through a stone pillar. "Ha ha ha ha! You're not slipping out of this fight, girl. Can't you see? You can't stop me. I can just keep going back for more. It's like being reborn."

Buffy swung the scythe at Caleb's head, but he ducked and threw her against the wall. He kicked her into the air and punched her in the stomach before she fell to the ground again. He kicked her in the head and grabbed the scythe, but Buffy kicked it out of his hands and into the air. She grabbed the scythe and kicked Caleb to the floor. She went to stab him with the stake-end of the scythe, but he stopped her from plunging it into his chest.

Caleb laughed and pushed Buffy away, taking the scythe away from her and throwing it to the ground as he walked toward her. He punched her repeatedly until she fell to the floor. "You know, I gave you ample warning. Told you not to interfere, but you chose not to heed." Buffy charged toward Caleb, but he deflected her and threw her onto a sarcophagus. She kicked him and he picked her up by the lapels and swung her body into a stone pillar so hard that it moved one of the stones out of place. Buffy fell to the ground, and Caleb picked up the scythe. "I was kind of hoping it'd go this way." He reared back with the scythe as he stared at Buffy.

"Hey!" Caleb was suddenly knocked down and away from her. Buffy looked up to see that it was Angel standing there. He helped her to her feet. "I was never much for preachers."

"Took you long enough." Buffy said with a smile.

Caleb got to his feet and Angel started to go finish him off, but Buffy stopped him. "Ah, one of those things you have to finish yourself."

"Really kinda is."

Angel backed toward a pillar so he could be out of the way but still see the show. He crossed his arms and licked his lips. "You are so gonna lose." Buffy and Caleb met head on. Caleb took the scythe away from Buffy and punched her, sending her stumbling across the room. He pointed the stake-end of the scythe at Buffy and charged toward her, with her back against the wall, but he missed and lodged the scythe in the stone wall. Buffy pulled the scythe out of the wall and kicked Caleb away from her. "God, I missed watching this." Buffy swung the scythe at Caleb, slicing his stomach. He stumbled back, laughed heartily, wagged his finger at her, and fell to the floor.

Buffy, winded, but smiling, looked at Angel. "See? Under control."

"You know, you didn't thank me for saving you just then."

Buffy dropped the scythe to the floor and walked up to Angel, wrapping her arms around his neck and pressing herself against him, kissing him deeply.

Unbeknownst to either of them, Spike watched the scene from the entrance to the tomb. The First as Buffy appeared behind him and said, "That bitch."

Angel held Buffy tightly to him, kissing her like he used to before he knew about the loophole in the curse. Needing air, Buffy pulled away first and smiled up at him. He grinned back and said, "I'll qualify that as a thank you."

Buffy giggled. "Wow."

"Buffy…."

Caleb stood up behind Angel and knocked him down by hitting him with a cat statue, sending him across the floor. Caleb walked up to Buffy, black blood streaming from his eyes and nose. "Are you ready to finish this, bitch?!"

Caleb swung the cat statue at Buffy, but she blocked with the scythe and then fell to the ground. She swung at him with the scythe, but he blocked with the cat statue. Caleb knocked Buffy to the ground, then threw the cat statue at her. She stood, holding the scythe at the ready.

"Ok…. how many times do I have to kill you? Ballpark figure."

"You understand nothing." Buffy swung at Caleb, but he grabbed the scythe, holding it still, and punched Buffy in the face twice. He lifted Buffy in the air, pressing her back against the low ceiling. She struggled, and Caleb finally let her fall to the floor. He walked up to her slowly, then picked her up by her lapels. "You think you have power over me?" Buffy broke free of his grip and kicked him, knocking him down to the floor. "Stupid girl." He stood. "You'll never stop me. You don't have the ba…." While Caleb got to his feet, Buffy twirled the scythe and swung it up between his legs.

"Who does nowadays?"

Caleb looked down incredulously at the scythe lodged in his body between his legs. Buffy swiftly pushed the scythe up through his body. Angel regained consciousness and stood. "Ok, now I'm pissed. Where is he?"

Buffy looked to her right, then to her left, and then at Angel. "He had to split." Suddenly she let out a devilish giggle. Angel joined in after a moment and they walked over to the sarcophagus and sat down. He pulled the folder from Wolfram and Hart out of his jacket and handed it to Buffy.

"What's this?" Buffy asked.

"Something that may help you out."

"I'll have the guys go through it. See if there's anything new. Wolfram and Hart? Are they a reliable source?"

"Not remotely."

"Mm, any port in an apocalypse."

"I, uh, brought something else as well." Angel took the amulet out of his pocket and held it up for Buffy to see. It was a 2-inch diameter round crystal pendant in a silver starburst setting hung from a coarse silver chain.

"I can already tell you, I have nothing that goes with that."

"It's not for you."

"Splainy?"

"I don't know everything. It's very powerful and probably very dangerous. It has a purifying power, a cleansing power, possibly scrubbing bubbles. The translation is, uh….. anyway, it bestows strength to the right person who wears it."

"And the right person is?"

"Someone ensouled, but stronger than human. A champion. As in me."

"Or me."

"No. I don't know nearly enough about this to risk you wearing it. Besides, you got that real cool scythe going for you."

"No."

"Yes you do."

"Not the scythe. You wearing that. I can't risk you."

"You need me in this."

"No, I need a guarantee that nothing will happen to you."

"Why?"

"If I lose, if this thing gets past Sunnydale, then it's days…. maybe hours…. before the rest of the world goes. I need a second front, and I need you to run it."

"Ok…. that's one reason. What's the other?"

Buffy stood and walked out of the tomb. "There is no other."

"Is it Spike?" Buffy stopped walking and turned to face Angel. "You're not telling me something." Angel waited, but Buffy didn't say anything. "Is he your boyfriend?"

"Is that your business?"

"You in love with him?" Buffy glared at him. "Ok, maybe I'm outta line, but this is kind of a curve ball for me."

"It's different. He's different."

"Who doesn't have a soul now?"

"He'll make a difference."

"You know, I started it. The whole having a soul. Before it was all the cool new thing."

"Oh, my God. Are you 12?"

"I'm getting the brush off for Captain Peroxide. It doesn't necessarily bring out the champion in me."

"You're not getting the brush off."

"I heard your conversation with him last night."

"Are you just gonna come here and go all Dawson on me every time I have a boyfriend?"

"Aha! Boyfriend!"

"He's not. But…. he is in my heart."

"That'll end well." Angel walked away and leaned on a tombstone.

"What was the highlight of our relationship? When you broke up with me or when I killed you? I'm well aware of my stellar history with guys…." She sighed and leaned beside Angel. "And, no, I don't see fat grandchildren in the offing with Spike, but I don't think that really matters right now. You know, in the midst of all this insanity, a couple things are actually starting to make sense. And the guy thing…. I always feared there was something wrong with me, you know, because I couldn't make it work. But maybe I'm not supposed to."

"Because you're the Slayer?"

"Because…. Ok, I'm cookie dough. I'm not done baking. I'm not finished becoming whoever the hell it is I'm gonna turn out to be. I make it through this, and the next thing, and the next thing, and maybe one day I turn around and realize I'm ready. I'm cookies. And then, you know, if I want someone to eat…." She caught herself. "Or enjoy warm, delicious cookie me, then…. that's fine. That'll be then. When I'm done."

"Any thoughts on who might enjoy…. Do I have to go with the cookie analogy?"

"I wasn't really thinking that far ahead. That's kind of the point."

"Do you want me to leave?"

She sighed, frustrated. "Look, I had all this figured out until two nights ago."

"Then?"

"You! You came blazing in on your white horse and your cape a'billowing and…." She sighed again. "Now…. Ok, I do."

"Do what?"

"Sometimes think that far ahead."

"Sometimes is something."

"It'd be a long time coming."

"I ain't getting any older." He smirked. "Besides, I'm pretty sure you're almost done baking."

"How?"

"Why do I always have to explain things to you!? Can't I just be mysterious?"

"No."

He put the amulet in his pocket. "I'm not leaving, though."

"You know, that's the first time you've refused to leave me when you had the opportunity. An give me that amulet."

"Buffy…."

"I want it to be you."

"To wear the amulet?"

"Ok, we never had to use this many words before. I meant…. When I'm done baking. It's you I want to be the one to enjoy cookie me."

Angel smiled. "Not Spike?"

"Not in that case, no. But the amulet…." He took her hand and pulled her to him, wrapping their arms around each other, and kissed her deeply to shut her up.


	53. Chapter 53

Chapter 53

Dawn was waiting by the front door when Buffy and Angel walked in. Buffy was surprised to see her and Dawn kicked Buffy in the shin. "Ow."

"Dumbass." Dawn said. Buffy looked over at Xander who was in the dining room with Anya, Giles, Connor, and Willow.

"Don't look at me." He said. "This is a Summers' thing. It's all very violent."

"If you get killed, I'm telling." Buffy said to Dawn.

"Did you find out anything about the scythe?" Willow asked.

Buffy looked at Angel with a knowing grin. "It slices, dices, and makes julienne preacher."

"Caleb?" Connor asked.

"She cut him in half." Angel said.

"All right!" Willow cheered.

"He had that coming." Anya said.

"Go Buffy!" Connor said.

"Hey, party in my eye socket and everyone's invited." Everyone stared at Xander. "Sometimes I shouldn't say words."

Buffy looked at Giles. "Where's Spike?

"In the basement." Giles said.

She nodded and looked at Angel. "I'll go call LA." With that, he walked out. Buffy turned and headed to the basement. Spike was punching a punching bag when she walked down the stairs.

"So…. where's tall, dark and forehead?" Spike asked.

"Let me guess. You can smell him."

"Yeah, that and I also used my enhanced vampire eyeballs to watch you kissing him."

"It was…. a thank you."

"Most people don't use their tongues to say thank you. Or I guess they do, but…."

"He's upstairs calling his friends in LA."

"So, he's not leaving, then?"

"Good, good. I haven't had quite enough jealous vampire crap for one night."

"He wears lifts, you know."

Buffy looked over at the punching bag that Spike was hitting and saw something had been taped to it. It was a sketch drawn in black marker on white paper that showed hair that stuck straight up, X's for eyes and fangs on the frowny face. Buffy rolled her eyes at the representation of Angel.

"You know, one of these days I'm just gonna put you 2 in a room and let you wrestle it out." She said.

Spike rifled through an empty cigarette package. "No problem at this end." He threw the package away in disgust.

"There could be oil of some kind involved."

"Where's the trinket?"

"The who-ket?"

"The pretty necklace your sweetie-bear gave you. The one with all the power. I believe it's mine now."

"How do you figure?"

"Someone with a soul, but more than human? Angel meant to wear it, but since you wouldn't let him and he wouldn't let you, that means I'm the qualified party." He held out his hand.

"It's volatile. We don't know…."

"You'll be needing someone strong to bear it, then. You planning on giving it to Andrew?"

"Angel's going to wear it. He's stubborn."

"You don't have to tell me that."

"I just wanted to come check on you. See how you were doing."

"As you say…. I'm peachy."

"You know, Angel said the amulet is supposed to be worn by a champion." Spike stopped punching the bag and looked at her. "I wanted you to wear it."

"Well…. I've been called a lot of things in my life."

"You are a champion, Spike. At least…. I believe you are." Buffy smiled and headed up the stairs. She walked into the living room as Angel hung up the phone. "They're getting things ready." He said.

"Thank you." She said.

"Any time." Angel bounced on the balls of his feet for a second. "So…."

"I with you were leading the second front, but I'm more grateful that you're at my side. It means a lot that you won't leave me this time." She smiled. "It's a confidence booster." Angel chuckled. "I got bad news though. Faith's still got my room."

He smiled. "My old apartment's closer than the mansion. Do you…. I've still got the key."

"That sounds like a good idea. Besides, it'll give me time to think and get things straight in my head without all the noise."

"Go grab a bag. I'll wait outside."

She smiled and headed up the stairs.

* * *

Buffy and Angel were lying in his old bed together at his old apartment. Connor was asleep in the other room on a cot. His room had been taken over by girls again and he didn't know Faith enough to sleep in the same room as her. Angel had his arm around her and she played with his hand. He rolled over, accidentally removing his arm from her, and she sat up. She stood and paced around the small bedroom and looked out the window, staring at the night sky when Caleb/The First appeared.

"Pretty, ain't it?" It asked.

"You're not him." Buffy said.

"No, you killed him right and proper. Terrible loss. This man was my good right arm. Course, it don't pain me too much. Don't need an arm. Got an army."

"An army of vampires. However will I fight…."

"Every day our numbers swell. But then you do have an army of your own. Some thirty-odd pimply-faced girls, don't know the pointy end of a stake. Maybe I should call this off."

"Have you ever considered a cool name? I mean, since you're incorporeal and basically powerless. How about The Taunter? Strikes fear in the heart…."

"I will overrun this Earth. And when my army outnumbers the humans on this Earth, the scales will tip and I will be made flesh."

"Talk on. I'm not afraid of you."  
"Then why aren't you asleep in your dead lover's arms? Cause he can't help you. Nor the other vampire, nor Faith, nor your friends, certainly not your wanna-slay brigade. None of those girlies will ever know real power unless you're dead. You know the drill," It morphed into Buffy's form. "Into every generation, a Slayer is born. One girl in all the world. She alone will have the strength and skill to…. There's that word again. What you are. How you'll die. Alone. Where's your snappy comeback?"

"You're right."

"Hmm. Not your best."

"Buffy?" Angel asked from the bed. He sat up and Buffy turned to look at him. She looked back, but Buffy/The First had disappeared. "Is something wrong?"

"No. Yeah. I just realized something. Something that really never occurred to me before." He stood up and walked over to her, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her to his bare chest. "Angel, we're gonna win."

"How do you figure?"

"The scythe."

"What's going on?" Connor asked, sitting up on his cot.

"Strategy planning."

"This late?"

Buffy shrugged. "Why not?"

Connor stood up. "Ok. What's the plan?"

* * *

Buffy stood in her room back at her house with everyone but the Potentials staring at her. Angel stood next to her with his arms crossed and a proud smile on his face. "What do you think?" Buffy asked the room.

"That depends." Xander said. "Are you in any way…. kidding?"

"You don't think it's a good idea?"

"It's pretty radical, B." Faith said.

"It's a lot more than that." Giles said. "Buffy, what you said, it…. it flies in the face of everything we've ever…. every generation has ever done in the fight against evil. I think it's bloody brilliant."

"You mean that?"

"If you want my opinion."

"I really do."

"Whoa, hey." Willow said. "Not to poop on the party here, but I'm the guy that's gonna have to pull this thing off."

"It is beaucoup d'mojo." Faith said.

"This goes beyond anything I've ever done. It's a total loss of control, and not in a nice, wholesome, my girlfriend has a pierced tongue kind of way."

"I wouldn't ask if I didn't think you could do it." Buffy said.

"I…. I'm not sure that I'm stable enough."

"You can do this, Willow." Angel said. He nodded assuringly to Willow, knowing what she did for him in LA.

"Yes." Giles agreed. "We'll get the coven on the line, and we'll find out how they can help."

"Oh!" Dawn suddenly said. "Pierced tongue."

"Dawn needs to do a research thing." Buffy said.

"Yes, you do." Giles said.

"It's cool." Dawn stood and walked out. "Watcher junior to the library."

"I'll go dig up my sources. Quite literally, actually." Giles walked out of the room.

Anya looked at Xander. "Come on, let's go assemble the cannon fodder."

"That's not what we're calling them, sweetie." Xander said, walking out with her.

"Not to their faces. What, am I insensitive?"

Buffy handed the scythe over to Willow and looked up at Angel. Willow walked out and Faith said, "Yo, I'll get everyone rounded up downstairs." She noticed the way Buffy and Angel were looking at each other and then grabbed Connor on her way out. "Come on, Angel Jr. You can lay on the charm and lure the girls in to the living room for Buffy."

"Thanks." Buffy said, her eyes still locked on Angel's.

"You're ok." Angel said quietly.

"I know. You're here." She stepped towards him and he stepped towards her, their lips meeting in the middle. "Thank you."

"For what?"

"Not leaving."

"And I'll be by your side when you address your troops, general." She smiled. "That title suits you."

"Maybe I should get an outfit." Angel lifted his eyebrows with playful desire dancing in his brown eyes. She laughed. "Come on." Buffy took a deep breath and headed down the stairs. Everyone was gathered in the living room. All eyes were riveted on her. The last time this display had played out, they had tried to kick her out of the house. The outcome of this one was scary as hell, but she knew she had the support of the people closest to her. Everything was as it should be now.

"I hate this." Buffy said. "I hate being here. I hate that you have to be here. I hate that there's evil and that I was chosen to fight it. I wish a whole lot of the time that I hadn't been. I know a lot of you wish I hadn't been, either." She noticed the guilty movements of everyone that had abandoned her last time. "But this isn't about wishes. This is about choices. I believe we can beat this evil. Not when it comes. Not when its army is ready. Now. Tomorrow morning I'm opening the Seal. I'm going down into the Hellmouth and I'm finishing this once and for all. Right now you're asking yourselves what makes this different. What makes us anything more than a bunch of girls being picked off one by one? It's true. None of you have the power that Faith and I do. So here's the part where you make a choice." She paused, just for dramatic effect. "What if you could have that power? Now? In every generation one Slayer is born because a bunch of men who died thousands of years ago made up that rule. They were powerful men." Buffy pointed at Willow, who smiled nervously at the room. "This woman is more powerful than all of them combined. So I say we change the rule. I say my power should be our power. Tomorrow, Willow will use the essence of the scythe to change our destiny. From now on, every girl in the world who might be a Slayer, will be a Slayer. Every girl who could have the power, will have the power. Can stand up, will stand up. Slayers. Every one of us." Buffy looked around the room at the nervous, anxious, but excited faces. "Make your choice. Are you ready to be strong?"

* * *

That night, Buffy and Angel walked around Sunnydale in silence, hand-in-hand. She was terrified of tomorrow. Angel could feel it. But he knew she would succeed. She was his Buffy. She always succeeded because she never stopped giving it her all. Even at her lowest point, she still gave all she could. It was that heart that Angel had seen that day in LA all those years ago. It was that strength and resilience and spirit that he had fallen so deeply in love with.

"Angel?" Buffy asked quietly.

"Yes?"

She stopped and looked up at him. He studied her nervous eyes and waited for her to continue. "If something happens to me tomorrow…."

"Buffy, nothing's…."

"No. Please, just listen. Ok?" He nodded. "If something happens to me tomorrow, I need you to make sure Dawn and Connor are taken care of. And my friends. And my Slayers. I need to know that they'll all be ok if I'm not there to watch after them."

Angel shook his head. "Nothing's going to happen to you."

"If it does…. Promise me, ok? If nothing else, promise that you'll keep Dawn and Connor safe and make sure they'll be ok without me."

He looked down at their clasped hands. Hers were so tiny in his. He brought her palm to his lips and kissed it, straying there for a long moment. Then he met her eyes with tears in his and said, "I promise. I promise with all my heart and my soul and all the love I hold for you that Dawn and our son will never want for anything. I promise I'll take care of Dawn as if she's my own sister."

"Thank you." She smiled. "You said 'our son.'"

"You caught that, huh?"

"I need one more thing."

"Buffy…."

"I also want you to promise that you'll go on. That you'll find some form of happiness if I'm not around." A tear coursed down his cheek and she wiped it away.

"That's a promise I can't make. The last time was so hard…. I got so lost in my head and things went so wrong around me. I honestly don't know what I would do again if…. You're going to be fine. You're going to make it through this thing and the next thing and the next…. And one day, we'll be together again as we should've been. I'll take you on a real date. No demons, no vampires, no crazy films with kimonos and food. Just you and me in a fancy restaurant all dressed up. Then maybe afterwards we can go to a play or an opera. I'll even pay for everything so it'll be like we're a normal couple." Buffy let out a short snort of laughter and he gave her a pained smile as her tears fell down her cheeks. "When you're cookies."

She let out a choked laugh and nodded. "When I'm cookies."

Angel leaned down and kissed her deeply, not ever wanting to let her go.


	54. Chapter 54

A/N WARNING: You're not going to love this chapter, but I PROMISE you that this isn't the end.

Chapter 54

Buffy walked at the rear of the pack into Sunnydale High School. A car had been driven onto campus and crashed into a palm tree. Papers and boxes were strewn all over the grounds. It was too quiet.

"Welcome to Sunnydale High." Robin said. "There's no running in the halls, no yelling, no gum chewing. Apart from that, there's only one rule." He stopped walking and turned to look at them. "If they move, kill them." Angel and Spike ran in under dark blankets that they tossed down by the door.

"Ok, potentials, in the basement. Follow Faith and Spike." Buffy said.

"If you have to go to the bathroom, it's to your left." Xander said. "If you don't have to go to the bathroom, picture what you're about to face. Better to go now."

"Willow, my office is straight through there." Robin said, pointing towards his office.

"It's right over the seal." Buffy said.

Kennedy took the bad from Willow. "I'll start getting you set up."

"Thanks." Willow said.

"Ok, civilians." Robin said. "The vampires get upstairs, we have 3 areas they could get through to another building and then down into the sewers. Down the hall in the atrium, the north hall here, and the primary target, through the lounge straight to the science building. Now odds are, most of them will head there."

"Teams of 2 then." Giles said. "I suggest you and I take the lounge."

"I concur."

"Xander, I want you with Dawn." Buffy said.

"I concur." Xander said.

"We'll check out the atrium." Dawn said.

"So that leaves me and the dungeon master in the north hall?" Anya asked.

"We will defend it with our very lives." Andrew said.

"Yes, we will defend it with his very life."

"And don't be afraid to use him as a human shield." Xander said.

"Good, yes, thanks."

"I just want to say how proud I am to die for this very special cause with you guys." Andrew said, taking a piece of paper out of his pocket. "There's some, um…. there's people I'd like to thank, both good and evil. Um, a shout out to my brother Tucker, who gave me the inspiration to summon demons and also…."

"Nobody cares, you little monkey." Anya grabbed Andrew's collar and hauled him towards their part of the school.

"I'm gonna check out our field of engagement." Dawn said, walking away.

Buffy went after her. "Dawn…."

"No. Anything you say is gonna sound like good-bye."

Angel walked up to Buffy. "Where do you want me?"

"At my side, of course. It's where you've always been, right?" Buffy said with a smirk.

"Always."

"I'll meet you guys in the basement." Connor said, following the way Spike, Faith, and the potentials had gone.

Buffy walked back to the group still standing in the hallway with Angel by her side. It was only Willow, Xander, and Giles now. They stared at each other in a heavy silence a moment before Xander broke the ice.

"It's good to have you back, Angel." He said. Angel looked mildly surprised. "Hey, I give you a lot of crap, but when it comes down to it…. I feel a hell of a lot better knowing that you'll be the one watching Buff's back when I can't."

"Thanks." Angel said.

Buffy smiled. "So, what do you guys want to do tomorrow?"

"Nothing strenuous." Willow said.

"Well, mini-golf is always the first thing that comes to mind." Xander said.

"I think we can do better than that." Giles put in.

"I was thinking about shopping. As per usual." Buffy offered.

"Oh! There's an Arden B. in the new mall!" Willow said.

"I could use a few items." Xander said.

"Considering the fact the place is deserted, I'd say the sales will be once in a lifetime." Angel said with a smirk.

"Ladies and gentlemen, he's gained a sense of humor!"

"Well, now aren't we gonna discuss this? Save the world to go to the mall?" Giles asked.

"I'm having a wicked shoe craving." Buffy said.

"Aren't you on the patch?" Xander asked.

"Those never work." Angel said.

"Here I am, invisible to the eye…." Giles said as Xander, Willow, Angel, and Buffy walked down the hall together away from Giles.

"See, I need a new look." Xander said. "It's this whole eye patch thing."

"Oh, you could go with full black secret agent look." Buffy said.

"Or the puffy shirt, pirate!" Willow said.

Buffy, Angel, Xander, and Willow walked down the hall together in silence. When they passed the Principal's office, Willow stepped in. Angel, Xander, and Buffy continued walking. When they passed a corridor, Xander grabbed Buffy's hand and squeezed it before walking away down the corridor. Angel took Buffy's hand and walked on down the hall towards the basement. Just before they reached the room, he stopped and slipped on the amulet. Buffy waited and before she knew it, Angel's lips were pressed against hers in a passionate kiss that made her knees weak.

"Just in case one of us doesn't make it out of here." Angel said with a nervous glance at the amulet.

They joined Faith and the other Potentials in the basement room where the Seal of Danzalthar was located. Connor, Angel, and Spike stood back as the two Slayers and the Potentials formed a circle around the edge of the seal.

"You first, B." Faith said, handing Buffy the dagger.

Buffy sighed and took the knife from Faith. She cut the palm of her hand so that it bled and then handed the knife to Faith. Moments later, after all the girls had cut their hands, they all held their cut hands out over the seal, activating it. As Angel watched, the seal opened and parted, sinking into the ground and forming a staircase into the Hellmouth. Buffy glanced behind her to Angel and then went in first, followed by Faith.

Angel looked at the amulet worn around his neck as they continued into the cavern. "Not to be a party pooper," He said to Buffy. "But my brilliant accessory isn't exactly tingling with power."

"I'm not worried." Buffy said.

"I'm getting nothing here…. and I look like Elizabeth Taylor."

"Cheer up, Liz." Spike taunted.

"Yeah." Faith said. "Willow's big spell doesn't work, it won't matter what you wear."

They all walked forward to the edge of a cliff where they could look out and see thousands upon thousands of Turok-Han below them on the floor of the Hellmouth.

"I'm not worried." Buffy squeaked. The Turok-Han were growling and making noise as they mobbed below them. Spike backed up and Angel moved to Buffy's side. She took his hand and he could feel it shaking. "I'm not worried."

"Really?" Rona asked. "Cause I'm flashing back to Xander's whole bathroom speech."

"Buffy…." Amanda said.

"I'm not worried." Buffy said. "As long as Willow can work her spell before they…." Suddenly, the Turok-Han looked up at Buffy and the others. "See us." The snarling Turok-Han army rushed towards the cliff. Buffy held her ground while the others backed up. "Willow…."

Suddenly, it felt like a warm summer's breeze rustled through the cave and filled Buffy with a peace she hadn't felt in a long time. Around her, the girls gasped and looked down at themselves. Buffy smiled, knowing what was happening. The Turok-Han rushed toward them as they stood on the cliff's edge waiting for battle.

"These guys are dust." Vi said.

The Turok-Han army rushed them. Buffy and Angel fought side by side just like old times. Faith tossed off a whoop and threw herself at the Turok-Han. Connor let out cry of sudden delight and started beating back the Turok-Han with all his might. All around them, the potentials were Slayers now as well and they threw themselves into the fight. Vi jumped and kicked a Turok-Han down. Rona punched a Turok-Han in the face, knocking it down. Amanda staked a Turok-Han through the heart as Vi beheaded another one. Behind them, Kennedy ran down into the Hellmouth carrying the scythe.

"Buffy! Catch!" She threw the scythe to Buffy and she caught it without even glancing at it and was immediately able to kill the Turok-Han faster, than before, dusting them quickly. Angel smiled, a little jealous that Buffy had such a cool weapon that could take down three vamps at once.

The battle was going well for Buffy's gang as they were able to keep up with the endless number of Turok-Han that came for them. Vi went after one of them with intensity Buffy had never before seen in her. Buffy used the scythe to behead a Turok-Han. As their numbers increased, some of the Turok-Han were able to get past Buffy's gang and go up through the Hellmouth into the school. Angel was fighting off Turok-Han alongside the others when he stepped back and looked down at the amulet around his neck. He touched the amulet, but it burned his hand.

"Buffy! Whatever this thing does, I think it's…."Angel winced and moaned in pain.

Buffy didn't hear him, though. "Keep the line together!" She called. "Drive them to the edge! We can't let them do…." Buffy felt a fiery pain in her abdomen and looked down to see that a Turok-Han had stabbed her with a sword from behind. She stumbled forward and collapsed to the ground, face-first. Faith and the other girls were still fighting off the Turok-Han.

Faith noticed Buffy lying on the floor. "Buffy!" She ran over to the blonde Slayer.

Buffy leaned up on her elbows weakly. "Hold the line." She handed the scythe to Faith. Faith took the scythe and went back into the battle as Buffy stayed in place on the floor, grunting in pain. Spike continued fighting the Turok-Han, as did Faith and the others. A group of Turok-Han attacked Faith, and she called out to Rona, throwing the scythe to her as she went down. Rona used the scythe to mow down a couple of Turok-Han. Buffy was still lying on the ground weak and wounded.

Connor tried desperately to get to Buffy, but the Turok-Han's numbers were swelling faster than he could mow them down. Angel was still in pain from the amulet suddenly firing up, but he was trying to get to Buffy as well.

Buffy looked up to see herself looking back down at her. It was the First. "Oh no…." It looked down at Buffy's wound reflected on its body. "Ow! Mommy, this mortal wound is all…. itchy. You pulled a nice trick. You came pretty close to smacking me down. What more do you want?"

"I want you…. to get out of my face." Slowly, defiantly Buffy stood up, staring down the First.

Rona saw Buffy standing and threw the scythe to Buffy. Buffy caught it and swung it with a mighty force, knocking three Turok-Han off the cliff at once. Faith found renewed strength and kicked her assailants off of her as well. She took out a few Turok-Han, as did another Slayer. Vi took out one after another after another. Connor, seeing Buffy get back up, started to take out the Turok-Han with a renewed sense of strength and will. Kennedy disarmed one and dusted another. Buffy knocked one off the cliff and killed one with the scythe. Spike made it to Buffy's side and they moved back to back, fighting in sync with one another.

Angel gasped and stumbled backward away from the fight as he clutched his chest, then his burned hand. A bright blue light shot up from the amulet, knocking a hole in the ceiling, going up through the floor of the Principal's office past Willow and through to the open sky. The light turned a warm orange color. "Buffy!" Angel shouted.

"Angel!" Before Buffy could go to his side, the amulet refracted the orange light out into the Hellmouth like rays of sunshine but with concentrated intensity like a laser. Buffy stared at Angel. As the amulet worked its magic, the Turok-Han were dusting throughout the Hellmouth. The ground started shaking.

Faith called out to the others, "Everybody out, now!" Everyone rushed to the stairs that led up to the seal. Buffy ran to Angel's side.

"I can feel it, Buffy." Angel said.

"What?"

"My soul. It…. Kind of stings…. But I can feel it…. I can feel it like I felt it in your arms."

"Buffy!" Spike called. "Let's move."

Buffy shook her head, moving closer to Angel, her eyes never leaving his, and Spike looked at the two of them. He decided to leave them, but if Buffy didn't come out of the Hellmouth, he was coming back in to get her. Connor ran past them and started to grab at Buffy, but Spike pulled him out of there.

Buffy and Angel were the only ones left in the Hellmouth. Angel was still glowing from the amulet, sending rays of light out into the Hellmouth. Buffy stood in front of him, staring, still holding her scythe.

"Go on, Buffy."

"No. No, you've done enough. You could still…."

"No, you've beat them back. It's up to me to finish it." The walls were crumbling around them. He laughed. "I think it's fair to say school's out."

"Angel…."

"I've gotta do this, Buffy." He held out his hand to stop her. Buffy laced her fingers through Angel's and they burst into flame together.

Tears streamed down her face. "I love you, Angel."

Angel started to cry himself. "I'll always love you. Take care of our son."

Another earthquake rocked the Hellmouth and Buffy stumbled. She gripped Angel's hand tightly, but he let go. "Angel…."

"Go!" Buffy stared at him for a long moment. "GO!"

She turned and ran up the stairs and through the hallways, still carrying the scythe, avoiding the debris that was falling to the floor as well as what was on the ground. The door was blocked, so Buffy went upstairs. She made it to the roof and started running along the rooftops of the shopping mall as the bus drove down the street. The buildings were collapsing behind her as she tried to catch up to the bus. She leapt from building to building, still carrying the scythe, then finally jumped toward the street, landing on the bus.

The bus screeched to a halt about a mile outside of town with Buffy still clinging to the top. She jumped down off the top of the school bus and looked around. Dawn and Connor opened the emergency exit door at the back of the bus and jumped down to give Buffy a tight hug.

Giles looked around down the street behind them. "I don't understand. Who did this?"

"Angel." Buffy said, her throat closing on her painfully when she said his name.

As everyone who was able to got off the bus, Buffy walked away from the bus a few feet toward Sunnydale, which was now a vast cavern. The _Welcome to Sunnydale_ sign still stood, perched precariously on the edge of the canyon. The sign teetered a little before falling backwards into the pit that used to be its city.

"Buffy?" Connor asked. "Dad…."

He was interrupted by Faith as she walked up to them. "Looks like the Hellmouth is officially closed for business."

"There is another one in Cleveland." Giles said. "Not to spoil the moment." He bent to pick up a rock and threw it into the canyon.

"We saved the world." Xander said.

"We changed the world." Willow walked up to Buffy's side. "I can feel them, Buffy. All over. Slayers are awakening everywhere."

"We'll have to find them." Dawn said.

"We will."

"Yes, because the mall was actually in Sunnydale, so there's no hope of going there tomorrow." Giles said.

"We destroyed the mall? I fought on the wrong side." Dawn said.

"All those shops gone." Xander said. "The Gap, Starbucks, Toys 'R Us. Who will remember all those landmarks unless we tell the world about them?"

"We have a lot of work ahead of us." Giles said.

"Can I push him in?" Faith asked.

"You've got my vote." Willow said.

"I just want to sleep, yo, for like a week."

"I guess we all could, if we wanted to." Dawn said.

"Yeah. The First is scrunched, so…. what do you think we should do, Buffy?" Willow asked.

"Yeah, you're not the one and only chosen anymore." Faith said. "Just gotta live like a person. How's that feel?"

"Yeah, Buffy. What are we gonna do now?" Dawn asked.

As the others chattered around her, Buffy just stared straight ahead at the hole formerly known as Sunnydale. Tears streamed down her face at the loss of Angel. None of it seemed worth it without him. Connor held her hand and cried silently with her at the loss of his father. Buffy turned away and got on the back of the bus that had been turned into a dark cube-shaped tent for Spike and Angel. Spike sat there, bruised and a little bloody. He saw Buffy's tear stained face and held his arms out to her. She buried herself against his chest and sobbed. He closed the thick blankets around them so no curious on-looking-Slayers could bother her.


	55. Chapter 55

Chapter 55

Buffy sat curled up in Angel's old bed at the Hyperion. It had been three days since the Hellmouth had been shut down. Gunn, Fred, and Lorne had taken the Slayers into the Hyperion until Giles could get everyone over to England. Buffy hadn't left this room since she had gotten there. When she was in his room, she felt like he was still here. Like he would walk in at any moment and wrap her in his arms and tell her everything was all right and he loved her.

But that would never happen. Gunn, Fred, and Lorne took turns taking care of Buffy. They made sure she ate and drank and if she needed a shoulder to cry on, they would gladly provide one. They said Connor was holed up in his room as well. They took care of him too. Every now and then, late at night, Connor would creep into Angel's room and check on Buffy. Willow and Xander also came to check on Buffy when they weren't busy checking Slayers.

Finally, Buffy decided she needed to get out of the hotel to breathe in some fresh air. She went on patrol, sneaking out the back way so no one could stop her on her way out. Fred had told her that Giles was leaving in two days to take the first of the Slayers to his compound in England. Buffy was supposed to go with them, but she still wasn't sure if she wanted to go. Wesley had come to see her and told her about Wolfram and Hart. They had all talked about it and decided that they were going to turn it down since Angel wasn't there anymore. He had offered to help Buffy and Giles deal with all the Slayers.

Buffy sat on a sarcophagus and listened to the city sounds around the cemetery she was sitting in. Nothing stirred. No newly risen vamps. No demons. Not even older vamps living in the cemetery were there.

"Hey there." A voice said next to her.

Buffy jumped and looked over at the silent intruder. It was Lilah. "You're dead." She turned away, hoping that the dead woman would leave her be.

"Yeah, I'm dead. But it didn't stop you, did it?"

"I didn't think you had friends that would yank you out of your hellish paradise."

"I'm still under contract with Wolfram and Hart. They use me when they need me." Buffy raised an eyebrow. "And since I'm really the only person you sort of knew from Wolfram and Hart, they needed me."

"For what?"

"The Senior Partners want to offer you Angel's job."

Buffy looked at her sharply. "What?"

"The firm has had their eye on you for quite some time."

"Why?"

"Because you made Angel. You're the reason he's got a destiny. The way the Senior Partners see it, you're the source of all of the prophecies that say that Angel will be a prime player in the Apocalypse."

"It's over with."

"No. That was AN apocalypse. Not THE Apocalypse."

"So, what? You think that by killing Angel, you'd be able to get me into bed with the ultimate evil."

Lilah sighed. "Listen, we wanted Angel to be CEO of the LA branch of Wolfram and Hart. But since he's gone…."

"Because of the amulet you guys gave him."

"We're offering you his job."

"No thank you."

"Oh come on. You know you can't pass this up."

"I just did."

"You'd be finishing the job he started by taking that deal." Lilah said enticingly.

"What job?"

"He wanted to destroy Wolfram and Hart from the inside out. I doubt he would've been able to do it, but hey…. Maybe you could."

"Sure, play to my grieving noble side."

"Seriously, Buffy. You'd be good at this job."

"Name one good reason I should take the job that Angel died for."

"We'd fund your efforts with the Slayers. They've already installed a special division just for you."

That surprised Buffy. "Really?"

"You can use our resources to build a training facility for your Slayers all over the world. You could use our psychics to help your witch find all the Slayers you made." Buffy had to admit it was intriguing. "And all the while, you could be using all the other resources of Wolfram and Hart to your advantages. Like, say…. Finding a way to bring your precious Angel back."

"That would make your deal with me redundant if I brought him back."

"No. You would be CEO not him."

"Why did you give him the amulet? You had to have known what it would do."

"The Senior Partners don't tell me why they do things. They just tell me what to do and I do them."

"The Senior Partners set Angel up to die?"

"I wouldn't say that they set him up…."

"That's exactly what they did." Buffy jumped down off the sarcophagus. "And now…. They're going to pay."

* * *

"Buffy, you can't!" Willow said.

"Why not? Angel was going to. It's what he was planning to do and now…. It's what I'm going to do." Buffy said. "You guys don't have to do it."

"Oh, I'm all over that." Gunn said.

"I can't let you go in by yourselves." Wesley said. "You'll need some expertise into the inner workings of Wolfram and Hart."

"Is that your British way of saying 'I'm in'?"

"Of course."

"You should think about this." Giles said.

"Well, I can't let you guys have all the fun. I'm in too." Fred said.

"Bless you sweet pea! I can finally work with Mary-Kate and Ashley!" Lorne cried.

"I think Lorne's in too." Gunn said.

"Buffy…." Giles started.

"I'm in too." Connor said. "I don't really have anything to do there, but I'm still in. If this is what dad started, then I'm going to help finish it."

"Hey, didn't you say that they replaced that Lindsey guy's hand?" Xander asked Wesley. Wesley nodded. "Do you think they could replace my eye?"

"I'm not sure that's a wise choice. Lindsey's hand was from a murderer." Wesley said.

"I'm sure I could choose the eye from a non-murderer."

"I'm sure we could change their policy so you'll be safe." Buffy said.

"Then count me in."

"Willow?"

"I can't, Buffy." Willow said. "That place…. I've heard too many awful things about it."

"Then you go with Giles to England and start working with the Slayers." Buffy looked at Faith.

"I'm going with the Slayers. I don't really want to go back to jail, so if I head to Europe…."

"Wolfram and Hart could expunge your records." Wesley said.

"Seriously?"

"Yes. You could be free to go whatever you wanted without being hunted."

"Faith, would you cover Cleveland?" Buffy asked.

"Hellmouth number 2? Sure, I'm game."

"I'll use Wolfram and Hart to set up a nice big place for you there so you can take in Slayers for your army."

"Nice. I'm in."

"Good. Spike?"

"Sounds like a party to me. Of course I'm in." Spike said.

"Dawn?"

Dawn shrugged. "I guess I have to."

"Why?"

"Because if I let you wander off on your own, the Powers only know what'll happen to you. I gotta keep an eye on you."

"Buffy, I really wish you wouldn't do this." Giles said.

"You're not changing my mind, Giles." Buffy said. "This is what I'm doing. I'm going to find a way to bring this place down like Angel wanted."

* * *

Three weeks later, Buffy was the CEO of the LA branch of Wolfram and Hart. Fred had taken over the science division and asked Dawn for her help since Dawn was good at science, Gunn had taken over…. Well, Buffy wasn't really sure what…. Wesley had taken over the mystical division, Lorne had taken over the entertainment division, and Xander had taken over the operations division because of his military knowledge. Spike and Connor just hung around helping where they could.

At the moment, Buffy was patrolling by herself. It felt good to be able to get out and do what she did best. She walked the streets of LA, headed for the closest cemetery when she heard a scream from a dark alley across the street. Buffy ran into the alley and kicked the vampire in the face, knocking him down.

"Doesn't sound like the lady's interested." Buffy said. "Maybe you're coming off as too needy."

The vampire did a kick flip to get himself up off the ground as he launched a side kick into Buffy's ribs. They traded punches and Buffy finally kicked the vampire in the chest, knocking him down flat on his back in the alley. It kick-flipped to its feet again to engage Buffy again.

"Don't you ever stay down!?" Buffy grabbed the vampire's foot and spun him around in the air as she hurtled the vampire into the wall. The vamp fell to the ground again. Buffy pulled a stake out of her inside jacket pocket, twirled it like an old gunfighter might, and lunged it into the vampire's chest. The vampire disappeared in a cloud of dust.

"What ju…. I don't understand." The girl muttered.

"Yeah. Don't try to either." Buffy said. "Just, you know, get home and stay out of dark alleys. You'll be all right." Buffy smiled and walked away.

"But…. who are you?"

Buffy didn't turn around. "It doesn't matter."

Suddenly cars screeched around her and a group of armed men dressed completely in black gathered suddenly at the end of the alley, pointing guns in Buffy's direction.

"Miss Summers!" He grabbed his CB and said, "Area's secure. Buffy is unharmed. Hostiles contained. Sweep area and confirm." He pulled off his ski mask and looked at Buffy. "Ma'am." Several cars pulled up to the end of the alley, all with their headlights pointing at Buffy. Several people got out and walked toward her.

"Buffy!" A lawyer said, running up.

"We got report of your movement and Mr. Harris sent us for backup." The man in all black said.

"But…." Buffy started.

"I'm Agent Hauser. I'm head of this operations team."

"Miss Summers!" The lawyer said. "Hi. Glad we caught you. Really would…." He looked to another lawyer. "Get the forms from her." He turned back to Buffy who was wide eyed and confused. "Really would prefer it if you didn't leave a rescue scenario until we had a chance to control the scene. Of course, that is your decision, ma'am, but…."

"How did you guys…." Buffy started.

The lawyer pointed to Buffy's jacket collar. "Tracking monitor in your lapel. And what a time-saver, too, huh?"

The other lawyer held a contract and spoke to the girl Buffy had saved. "This is to confirm that you have been rescued by Buffy Summers, C.E.O. and President of Wolfram and Hart and this is to indemnify Wolfram and Hart…."

The lawyer speaking with Buffy pushed her in the direction of the girl. "If we can just get a couple pictures of you two, that would be great. Now, uh, the vampire that you terminated, he actually did work for one of your clients. So, but, hey! First week, no one will squawk, ok?" He patted Buffy on the shoulder.

"You run a law firm?" The girl asked Buffy.

"No!" Buffy said. "I mean…. well, yeah…. Kinda…. sorta." A camera flashed. "Lately."

The second lawyer was still speaking to the girl, who was busy staring at Buffy. "I need you to initial here concerning your immortal soul."

The girl signed the document while questioning Buffy with disgust. "You did this for publicity?"

"No!" Buffy insisted.

"Would you like me to bring your car around, ma'am?" The first lawyer asked Buffy. "Or anything at all? Mocha? Latte? Decaf?"

Buffy just looked around at the array of dozens of people in utter disbelief. "I'm gonna shoot Xander." She muttered. The lawyer started to write 'Shoot Mr. Harris' on his paper, but Buffy pushed the pen away. "No! Not literally, you dolt!"

Buffy stood in the elevator and waited for the door to open. It dinged, but the door didn't open. She turned around and saw that the door behind her had opened. "You lost, boss?" Gunn asked playfully as she walked out.

"On more levels than one." Buffy said. "Did you hear what happened to me last night?" She started walking across the lobby, flanked by Gunn and Wesley.

"You got lucky?"

"Funny. They put a tracer on me. I was patrolling, which is a thing I like to do being a Slayer and all…. And all of a sudden, the entire firm shows up in the alley."

"We'll make sure it doesn't happen again." Wesley said.

"No. Xander will. They said he sent them." Buffy shook her head. "We're turning this place inside out. They wanna give me Wolfram and Hart and then expect me to follow their rules? No way. I'm gonna show them how I handle running this place. Like the sale signs say: Everything must go…." Buffy opened a door to walk into her office and stopped mid-sentence, staring at his desk. "Starting with that."

A young woman wearing a red suit was sitting on the edge of Buffy's desk with her long legs crossed and accentuated as she sat under the accent light. "Hi. It's really neat to see you guys."

"Last time I checked, this is supposed to be my office."

"Never happen again. Just wanted to, you know, see your face."

"So…. You like to make an entrance then."

"I don't need to make an entrance. I need to make an impression. I'm gonna be your liaison to the firm. I'll help you find your way. My name is Eve. And just so we get the whole irony thing of the way…." She picked up a shiny red apple from the desk and threw it to Buffy.

"Who do you answer to?"

"The senior partners, and if you're thinking, which, by the way, you are, that you can use me to get to them, let go of the dream. I answer to them. I don't lunch with them."

"Still…." Wesley said. "A pretty powerful position for a young woman."

Eve shook her head and looked at Buffy. "One could say the same about your boss. Besides, how exactly can you be sure I'm either of those things?" She stood. "Ok, let me tell you how this works."

"I thought I was in charge." Buffy said.

"Of the Los Angeles offices of a multi-dimensional corporation. Now, I'm stressing that last word because that's what we are. We're a business, and we have a bottom line. Now, you could take your new client list and start hacking away from the top down. A lot of our clients are demons, and…. almost all of them are evil."

"Almost?"

"Things are always more complicated than they seem, Blondie. You can shut this place down, but…. then…. well, then you wouldn't have it anymore. If the place closes down, the connections dry up. Evil goes next door. This is the catch…. I'm explaining the catch so you don't have to stand around wondering what it is. See, in order to keep this business running, you have to keep this business running. And that means keeping your clients…. most of them, anyway…. happy."

Gunn frowned. "Means letting them get away with stuff."

"Sweetie, they were getting away with it while you were all sitting around your hotel waiting for the phone to jangle and the Slayer was sitting in her quaint little home in Sunnydale waiting for the Hellmouth to blow again. Well, you're on the ins now, and you can stop the worst of it. Maybe find some new solutions to some old problems. Come on! Isn't anybody excited? This is a crazy time of fun. The most powerful evil around has given a pivotal position over to its sworn enemies. You're not scared, are you?" No one said anything, just glared at Eve. "The client files are all in there. You might want to start going through 'em."


	56. Chapter 56

Chapter 56

Buffy, Lorne, Fred, Wesley, Spike, Connor, Xander, Dawn, and Gunn sat around the conference table going through files. The table was covered in papers and file folders. "This is unbelievable." Buffy said, setting down another file.

"I think I've lost my appetite, which is kind of a first." Fred said.

"Hmm, well, this is interesting." Lorne said.

"What?" Xander asked, leaning over to look.

"Apparently old Joe Kennedy tried to get out of his deal with the firm."

"That explains a lot." Wesley said.

"Yeah, but George, Senior…. he read the fine print."

"Man! There's no one these guys don't have a piece of." Xander said.

"How are we even supposed to start making things right?" Buffy asked. She slumped down into a chair heavily with a sigh.

"Here's a winner." Gunn said.

Dawn took the file from him and read the name out loud. "Corbin Fries."

"On trial for smuggling Asian girls in for cheap labor and prostitution."

"He's been charged with drugs, gun running…. Pretty much you name it."

"And?" Buffy asked.

"According to this, nothing stuck." Dawn scoffed at the folder. "Uch! He's one of our human clients."

"Looks like the trial's not going too well this time." Gunn said, taking the folder back.

"First good news all day." Buffy said towards the ceiling. She had leaned back in the chair and hung her head over the back.

"I can't even remember which pile is which." Spike said, staring at the folders and papers.

"I guess I'll get my secretary to go through it in the morning." She paused and lifted her head to look at Wesley. "Do I have a secretary?"

"I imagine they'll find you someone who can stomach the idea of working for the side of the righteous." Wesley said.

"My impression is a lot of these guys are just opportunistic." Xander said. "They'll go with the flow."

"You know we're gonna have to check the whole staff, make sure we don't have any die-hard evildoers plotting against us." Fred said.

"And here I was, worrying about the clients." Wesley said.

"We're doing the right thing…. right?" Buffy asked.

"Well, uh…." Lorne sat forward. "We're doing it tomorrow, crumb cake. My horns are falling asleep."

"Yeah. You guys go get some rest."

"What about you?" Connor asked.

Buffy shrugged. "I never was one for sleep. Go on."

"I'll stay with you." Spike said.

"Me too." Connor agreed.

"No, you guys go on." Buffy said.

"Someone's got to make sure you actually work and don't slack off in here." Spike said playfully.

Buffy laughed. "Fine. But don't bitch tomorrow when you didn't get enough sleep."

Spike pointed to himself. "Vampire." Then he pointed at Connor. "Son of two vampires."

"Got it." Buffy nodded seriously and then smiled at Spike.

* * *

Buffy was going through papers on her desk the next morning. Connor and Spike were asleep in the conference room, curled up in their chairs. Buffy picked up an envelope that was mailed to her, but she put it to the side without opening it as she yawned and decided she needed some caffeine. She pressed a button on her phone.

"Um…. can I get a cup of coffee?"

"You have reached ritual sacrifice." The phone said back to her. "For goats, press one, or say goats."

Buffy quickly pressed the button and tried again by pressing a different button. "Hello?"

"This is Buffy's office. How can I help you?" A familiar voice said on the other end.

"This is Buffy."

"No, this is her new assistant."

"No, this is Buffy."

"Are you sure?"

"Less and less. Can I get a cup of coffee?"

"Oh! Right away." Buffy sighed and pressed the button to hang up, but she was switched to the previous line.

"To sacrifice a loved one or pet, press the pound…." Buffy hit the button to hang up, holding it down longer this time. She started to go back to her papers, but the phone rang. She gingerly pressed a button and the speakerphone came on.

"Hello?"

"It's Wesley. Can I stop in? We might be into a situation." Buffy's secretary walked in with a mug and placed it on her desk in front of her.

"Uh, sure. Come on by." Buffy sipped from her mug, then looked up at her secretary. She choked on her coffee when she saw who it was. "Harmony!?"

"Hey! Boss." Harmony said.

"You're my secretary?"

"Hello! Assistant."

"Please…. Explain to me…. In detail…. Lots and lots of details…. why I shouldn't kill you."

"Secretary's fine."

"No, it's not fine. Where is it fine? You've been working here?"

"Yeah-huh."

"Why?"

"Well, duh! I'm a single undead gal trying to make it in the big city. I have to start somewhere. And they're evil here, they don't judge. They've got the necrotempered glass…. no burning up…. a great medical plan, and who needs dental more than me?"

"I've landed in bizarro world!"

"Now, before you go threatening to fire me…."

"No. No, I threatened to kill you."

"Don't let's quibble. Before anything, just think…. I'm strong, I'm quick, I'm incredibly sycophantic…. if that means what that guy said…. and I type like a superhero…. if there was a superhero whose power was typing. And, hey, we keep the same hours. Creatures of the night…. unite."

"Harmony…. I'm not a creature of the night. You are. You're the vampire. I'm the vampire _Slayer_. Can you tell me what's in the middle between us?"

"Measly humans?"

"A stake! A sharp pointy object made of wood!"

Wesley knocked and opened the door, walking in. "Buffy, it's one of our cases. It's becoming problematic." He nodded to Harmony. "Harmony."

"Hey, Wes." Harmony said.

Buffy scoffed. "You knew that she was…."

"Wes is the one that picked me out of the steno pool."

"But why…. You, uh…."

"Well, I thought a familiar face would be just the thing in a place like this. After all, she was a classmate of yours in high school."

"That I hated back then too! Wesley, you turned evil a lot faster than I thought you would."

"Nonsense."

"We're gonna get along great, boss. The whole gang. I mean, Cordy is gonna lose it when she finds out…." She noticed that Buffy and Wesley were frowning. "I mean…. you are gonna tell her you're ok with this, right? I mean, I know she was mad at me for trying to kill her friends…. And her…. but she wouldn't…. I mean…."

"Cordy's…. She died." Wesley said.

"Oh. God, I…. I didn't…. What happened?"

"Uh…. It's a long, complicated story, but she's at rest now."

"Cordy was my best friend, like…. my whole life. She was my role model. How can she…." Harmony breathed deeply, then was chipper again. "So, anyway, I really think you should not fire me, and Wes does, too."

"Harmony, would you ask the men in my office to join us, please?"

"Righty-ho." Harmony turned and left.

Buffy sighed and sat down. "What's the case?"

Wesley handed a folder to Buffy. "Corbin Fries. The lowest piece of pond scum I've met in, oh, hours. He's about to get 20 years for kidnapping, pimping…."

"I saw the file." She handed it back to Wesley.

"Yeah, well, personally, I think he deserves to be eaten by weasels, but he's hinting we'd best help him. Threatening, actually." The door opened and a skeezy looking man walked in. "Mr. Fries."

"Mr. Fries, this is Buffy." Harmony said, walking in with him.

"I've been bringing her up to speed on your case." Wes gestured toward the couches in the corner of Buffy's office.

"Terrific." Fries said.

A lawyer who walked in with Fries walked over to Buffy and shook her hand. "Desmond Keel."

"One of ours." Wes clarified.

"Nice to meet you." Buffy said politely.

"I've heard, uh, things." Keel said.

"Would anybody like coffee?" Harmony asked.

"Oh, yeah, let's all chit-chat and have tea and crumpets 'cause I got so much time." Fries said. "Here's the skinny: Tomorrow the D.A. puts my tit in a wringer for good and all, and that…. does not stand with me. Butt-munch here, he got his law degree at dog training school, and the prosecution has everything they've ever dreamed of."

"Because you're guilty." Buffy said.

"Of course I'm guilty. What the hell are you changin' the subject for? The point is, when Holland Manners was running things, this would've never got to trial. Now, I bring a lot of money into this firm, more than most, and I don't do that so I can be handed over to the frickin' law." He pointed at Buffy. "You…. gotta get me off."

"It's strange, my lack of incentive."

"You think I give a ferret's anus about your new regime here? Yeah, I know who you are, and I care to the sum of zero. You're my lawyers. And if you don't do every last thing to keep me out of jail, you will regret it."

"Well, we can't dance around this one. We're not in a position to have anyone killed." Keel said. "Not that we would. And the jury's, uh, tamper-proof. Literally. I think one of the D.A.'s shamans has conjured a mystical shield around them."

"So this one has to be won on the merits of the case." Wesley said.

"Now, we have top men on this…."

"Who are doing jack!" Fries interrupted. "I am not gonna be made an example of. Either you get me off tomorrow…."

"I think you should calm down." Buffy said threateningly.

"To hell with calm down. Either you get me off, or I drop the bomb."

"Bomb?" Wesley asked.

"Let me put it this way: If they bring in a conviction, bye-bye, California. I say the magic word, the only people left standing are gonna be the ones that are already dead."

"Oh, well, that's a relief." Harmony sighed. "I mean…. Hey!"

Buffy ignored her and looked at Fries. "Don't think you can threaten me and get away with it."

"I just did, sweet cheeks." Fries slapped Buffy's butt and instinctively, she punched him in the nose and flipped him painfully onto his back, placing her foot firmly on his chest so he couldn't get up.

"Buffy!" Wesley went to her side and she let Fries up.  
"Get out." She snapped.

"Oh, you're going to pay." Fries snapped his fingers and walked out, Keel practically hopping onto Fries' back at his snap.

* * *

Fred, Dawn, and Lorne had joined Wesley and Buffy in Buffy's office. Connor and Spike had finally woken up and were sitting on the couch. Xander had been the last one to walk in and had sat on the edge of Buffy's desk next to her. Gunn was nowhere to be found.

"Blow everybody up?" Fred asked.

"Well, he said 'drop the bomb.' We don't know what that means." Buffy said.

"We very nearly found out." Wesley pointed out.

"What? I'm not allowed to hit people?"

"Not people capable of genocide."

"He slapped my ass! No one does that and gets away with it." Spike nodded his assent with a smirk. "And besides…. Those are exactly the types of people I should be allowed to hit!"

"Hey, back to the here and now, chickadees. Where do we stand?" Lorne asked.

"We need to find out about this bomb and somehow disable it in case that jury comes in with a conviction." Wesley said. "We think it may have some mystical element."

"Fries said, 'I say the magic word.' He could mean exactly that." Buffy said.

"Which is my department. We also think it probably isn't an explosive. This isn't the sort of man to risk his own life. So that could mean more magic…."

"Or it could be a virus, Ebola kind of thing." Dawn said.

"The main thing is, any of this stuff could've come from right here." Buffy said. "Keel, the lawyer guy, says he doesn't know anything, and I believe him."

"Why?" Fred asked.

"He's terrified."

"It's going around." Lorne said.

"Fred and Dawn, go through the lab records." Wesley said. "See if Wolfram & Hart deals in viruses. Lorne, you're in the courtroom. Monitor the case. Let us know how it's going."

"But lunch with Mary-Kate…. She was gonna tell me about Ashley's new piercing."

"I paged Gunn 3 times. Still nothing." Harmony said, sticking her head in the door and glaring at Spike for a moment.

"Why isn't he here?" Connor asked.

"Why is she?" Spike asked, pointing at Harmony.

"Long story." Harmony said.

"Maybe not." Buffy said pointedly.

"Oh, and I got Spanky's address." Harmony handed a note to Buffy.

"Spanky?" Xander asked, lifting an eyebrow at Buffy.

"Freelance mystic." Buffy said. "He's showed up in Fries' files a few times. I'm gonna do some recon. Spike, Connor…."

"Bodyguards!" Spike said, looking at Connor as they stood. "We should get paid to be the boss's personal bodyguards."

"Good idea." Connor said. He looked at Buffy.

"Sure. Wesley, can you call payroll and…." Buffy asked.

"Of course." He chuckled. "Bodyguards for a Slayer."

Buffy shrugged. "They need to get paid for something." She stood in front of her private elevator and the doors opened. She, Spike, and Connor piled in and headed down to Buffy's private garage.

Spike whistled. "Why didn't you tell me you had all these cars?"

"Why? So you could steal one?"

"Yeah!" Buffy shook her head and walked over to the silver BMW convertible. "Wait, Buffy…. The sun…."

"Necrotempered glass means that you don't turn into a crispy critter on the ride over there."

"You'll be missing that Camaro over there in about a week."

Hauser walked out from the shadows to speak with Buffy. "Ma'am?"

Buffy paused and looked at him. "Hauser, right?"

"We got word there's a floater you wanted brought in."

"How exactly did you get that word?"

"That's my job, ma'am. You want us to bring him in?"

"I'll take care of it."

"Traditionally, my unit handles all the wet work."

"I know you meant field work."

"Of course."

"Mm-hmm. I'll take care of it. Later on, you can tell me all about tradition." She opened the door to her car and looked back at Hauser. "Does Xander know that you're down here?" Hauser didn't say anything. "Didn't think so. You should really listen to your boss."


	57. Chapter 57

Chapter 57

Buffy knocked on the door, and a 50-something man walked to the door in a sweaty tank top. "So what do you want?"

"I'm here from Wolfram & Hart." Buffy said. "I'm here about a job."

"Well, then…. get your pretty butt in here. Pardon the sweaty. I was working out. Uh, you want a drink? I got a pitcher of daiquiris."

"I'm good, thanks."

"So am I. And I'm about to be better."

Buffy walked around the apartment and stopped to stare at a wall full of paddles and whips. "Huh. So…. why do they call you 'Spanky'?"

"I'm a big 'Our Gang' fan."

"Figured." Buffy was alone. Connor and Spike were waiting in the car. Spike couldn't go out into the daylight and Connor was trapped in the backseat since the passenger seat Spike occupied was the only one that lifted up for him to get out.

"So…. I was hoping this would be a social call when I saw you. I love spanking women that look as good as you do. Nice toned body. Powerful looking legs…. We could've had some fun, but when you said Wolfram & Hart, I assumed you were here about a mystical job."

"I am. The one you did for Corbin Fries."

"Yeah? Ok, I don't discuss my old jobs. Mystic-client privilege."

"Well, you're gonna tell me what you did for Mr. Fries now…. or very soon from now."

"I built him a container, a mystical vessel. You can put anything you want in it."

"Like a bomb."

"A bomb, a curse, a golden retriever. Anything. I don't know what he wanted it for. The vessel just holds it until the magic word dissolves the vessel."

"Ok, then, where'd you put the vessel?"

Spanky lunged around behind Buffy and put his forearm in front of her neck, and squeezed. "You know what I'm doing now? I'm applying pressure to your windpipe. You'll pass out, and then I'll let Mr. Fries decide if he wants you to wake up again." Buffy shook her head and flipped Spanky over her head. He landed with a crash on the coffee table and she flipped him over. Buffy grabbed his forearm and twisted it around behind his back. "Vampire." Spanky groaned.

"Slayer. And there's something else you should know about me." Buffy lifted Spanky to his feet and pushed him forward a bit, still holding his arm behind him, and grabbed a cricket paddle from the wall. She swung it at Spanky, sending him across the room. "I love spanking big jerks who think they can take me. So, tell me, Spanky…. What did you put in that vessel and where is it?"

* * *

Buffy drove back to Wolfram and Hart after beating her answers out of Spanky. She hit speed dial on her car phone and waited. "Department of…. Fred…."

"Fred, it's Buffy.

"Buffy! Hey, it looks like our client might be playing with a virus. Spread by touch or maybe even airborne."

"That's the bomb."

"Safe guess. So did you find out where he put it?"

"Yeah. I found out where he put it."

"Where?"

"I'll discuss it when I get back there. I'm on my way now."

"Ok, Buffy. Are you ok?"

"Benn better. See you in a little while." Buffy hung up and drove on. Spike and Connor were silent, unable to believe that Fries was capable of doing something so horrendous.

* * *

Eve walked up to Buffy, who was standing over her desk. "Rough day at work?"

"His son. He took a lethal virus, and he stuck it inside his son." Buffy said.

"Hits you where you live, doesn't it? I mean, Angel did say he wanted Connor to be your son as well as his. And if I'm not mistaken, just before he died…. He called Connor your son." Buffy looked sharply at Eve. "Of course I know about it. Everything both of you have ever done is recorded in your files down in Files and Records. Now, about Fries…. I'm curious how you're gonna play it."

"I'll quarantine the boy if it comes to it. Stop it…. from spreading."

"Here's the news from this sector: If every case hits you this hard, you're not gonna last a week."

"I don't want you coming into my office again unless I ask for you. And I really don't want to hear another word from you right now unless you decide to start helping out."

"How do you know I'm not?" Eve turned and walked out.

Buffy sat down behind her desk and sighed, holding back the tears that threatened to fall whenever she thought about those last moments with Angel. She picked up the picture of him that she kept on her desk and traced her finger down his cheek. With all her heart, she hoped she had done the right thing by taking over this place for him. She wondered if his soul was in heaven, waiting for her. If he knew what she had known in her time up there: That somehow, everything would be ok. Even if she couldn't see it now, that everything would be ok.

Buffy wiped away the tears that had fallen off her cheeks and headed up to her penthouse. It was a huge space that she had all to herself. Connor and Spike had an apartment together a little ways down the street in the building that was owned by Wolfram and Hart. Fred and Dawn shared an apartment there and Wesley, Xander, and Gunn had their own apartments there too. Buffy was the sole CEO of this firm and when she stood in this humungous penthouse by herself, she really felt like it. Once again she was the one and only Chosen One chosen to take over a job someone had died for. And this time it was someone she had loved more than anything else in her world.

Again, the tears fell and Buffy wiped them away. If it wasn't for this job, her Slayers would have no where to go. Now they had a brand new campus-like compound to go to that was almost complete where they could study and train and learn to become the best Slayer they could be. There were even ten buildings of incredibly nice dorm rooms they could stay in until their training was complete and then they would be assigned to their part of the world. Their training facilities had the best equipment money could buy. They had two cafeterias for the Slayers that served high quality food designed to keep them lean and fit, but still taste good. Wolfram and Hart had even put a hospital on the compound that was fully staffed with the best doctors and nurses. And on top of all that, they had a private plane with a private runway on the compound and a helicopter to take them to places near to the compound. The entire compound would be completed within the month. It was amazing what money could do. The place had only started being built not even three weeks ago when Buffy had taken over Wolfram and Hart.

Willow and Giles had gotten their own houses on the compound as well. One of the dorm buildings was kept for any Watchers that had survived the attack and wanted to come back to the newly formed Council. That building also housed the new Watcher-recruits. In Cleveland, Faith had a mini-compound to work with. It had two dorm buildings, a large training facility, a small, fully staffed hospital of its own, and a nice house for Faith. It too had a helicopter that took them to an airport where a private plane waited to take them wherever they needed to go. It was situated right next door to the Cleveland Hellmouth so they could keep an eye on it. Only the best Slayers were sent there and Giles planned to have a Slayer-graduate program where the best Slayers in their class could volunteer for the Hellmouth.

The only thing missing was Angel at her side. She had asked Wesley to look through his books to find something…. Anything to bring Angel back, but the only thing he could find was from the Nyazian scrolls what Wolfram and Hart had used to bring Darla back. They had tried it countless times, but it never worked. Wesley had faxed the spell to Willow, but even Willow with help from the coven couldn't make it work. No one could figure out why it wouldn't work. Buffy figured it had been Angel's time. After all, he had fought hard for his redemption. But she couldn't figure out why he hadn't gotten his reward…. His shanshu. It said he was supposed to live. Wesley told her he may have gotten the translation wrong because the word shanshu meant either 'to live' or 'to die' in some language or another. Maybe Angel had been meant to die and rest in peace. She could only hope so for his sake.

* * *

Buffy sat in her office going through papers on Fries. Connor and Spike sat in the chairs in front of her desk. Her phone rang and she pushed the speakerphone. "Buffy cakes, it's Lorne. Hey, listen, I'm gonna go ahead and recommend we get that boy into isolation pronto."

"How long do we have?" Buffy asked.

"The defense is drawing it out, but the judge is making merry sport of them, and, well, now the jury's looking at Fries like he's O.J…. without the commanding performance in _Towering Inferno_."

"Do you think he's gonna say the word?"

"Before they even deliver the verdict. He's dead meat, and he knows it. I think Fries Junior, is about to become Patient Zero."

"All right. Thanks. Uh, I'll get to the school. Stay in there."

Wesley walked into Buffy's office with Harmony trailing behind him. "Fred's got the lab techs on track for an antidote, but it could be days. Same with removing the mystical container, I'm afraid. If we could get them to suspend the trial…."

"Not gonna happen." Buffy said. "I gotta get to the school."

"Uh, boss?" Harmony said.

"It can wait."

"Maybe not."

Buffy looked at Wesley. "Go to the courthouse. Plan C. I'll let you know when I've isolated the boy."

"The special ops team already left for the school." Harmony said.

"What?"

"They left, and they called for the cleaners to meet there. I have it from some of the girls cleaners means a big job. Lots of bodies."

"Did Xander order that?"

"No." Xander walked in holding his jaw where a bruise was starting to form. "I didn't."

"How long ago?"

"10 minutes give or take."

"You'll never beat them on the street." Wesley said.

"Well, I gotta try." Buffy said.

"Um, boss?"

"What?!" Buffy and Wesley snapped.

"You have a helicopter."

Spike stood up. "I'll go to the school."

"Why?" Buffy asked.

"They have gas bombs and they'll use 'em." Xander said. "It'll incapacitate you but not Spike."

"I'm still going."

"Then hang back until the smoke clears." Spike said. "You can come in and fire Hauser in your own special way."

"Actually, Fred has a type of medicine Buffy can take to make her not have a reaction to the gas." Harmony said.

"Does Fred know that?" Buffy asked.

"I don't know."

"We're wasting time Harmony. Go!"

* * *

The black van full of agents pulled up to the school, and agents poured out. They gathered in the hall outside the classroom and put their gas masks on. They kicked open the door and tossed a gas canister inside. When they walked in, the room was empty except for Buffy and Spike sitting in two of the desks.

"So it turns out, with this new deal and all, I own a helicopter and some seriously nifty meds." Buffy said with a smile.

"Where's the boy?" Hauser asked.

"You just missed everybody."

"Kid's still a threat, which means you have him isolated, probably nearby."

"I can see why they made you head boy." Spike said.

Buffy smiled brightly. "Do I even have to start with how fired you all are?"

"That's not how it works." Hauser said.

"Oh, right! Tradition. Why don't you show me how that's done?"

"Thank you, ma'am. Take them out!"

Agents opened machine-gun fire on Buffy and Spike. Buffy dove for cover behind the teacher's desk and Spike covered her, taking any bullets that might hit her. After far too much shooting, one man approached Buffy and Spike with a wooden hunting knife. A vamped-out Spike overpowered the agent and Buffy took out another. Then they leapt across the desks toward the other agents near the door. One agent started to open a bottle of holy water, but Spike kicked it away from him. Buffy used the wall to propel herself into the air with a spinning kick to the agent's face. Spike lunged at another agent, pushing him out the door.

Hauser was suddenly there pointing a gun at Spike while Buffy finished off her agent. "You know that won't kill me." Spike said.

"It'll hurt you and it'll kill her. That part's fun."

Buffy snuck up behind Hauser and grabbed him by the throat. "Agent Hauser, I'm honestly beginning to suspect that you're not part of the solution." Spike grabbed the gun and pulled it away from Hauser.

"You really think you can solve the problem? Come into Wolfram and Hart and make everything right? Turn night into glorious day? You pathetic little fairy."

"I may be little, but you're the one in the deadly headlock."

"You're minuscule. A dust mote on the shelf of that great institution."

"What don't you get about the deadly headlock thing? One movement of my arm and you'll be able to see your ass instead of your little penis."

"You think I'm just a trigger-happy jerk who follows orders, but I am something you will never be. I'm pure. I believe in evil. You and your friends, you're conflicted. You're confused. We're not. That is why you are gonna lose, because we possess the most powerful thing in the world…. conviction."

"There is one thing more powerful than conviction. Just one. Mercy."

Hauser moved quickly away from Buffy suddenly and took the shotgun back from Spike, sending the vampire into the opposite wall. Buffy shook her head as he pointed it at her. She kicked Hauser in the chest, forcing the shotgun to point at Hauser's head. A gunshot sounded, and Hauser and his gun fell to the floor, a bloody splatter covering the wall where Hauser's head used to be.

"What happened to mercy?" An agent asked.

"You just saw the last of it." Buffy said, helping Spike up and walking away.

* * *

Harmony brought a bottle of water to Eve as she chatted with Buffy, Xander, Wesley, Dawn, Fred, Spike, Connor, and Lorne about Gunn. Gunn had gotten a brain…. Enhancement and won Fries' case.

"It's very simple, really. Charles agreed to let us enhance his mind with a comprehensive knowledge of the law."

"Without asking us?" Wesley asked.

"Mother, may I?" Gunn said sarcastically.

"Without telling us?" Fred rephrased.

"Cause I knew you guys would freak. Look, it's me here. They didn't evil me up. All I got stuck in my head was the law. And for some reason, a messload of Gilbert and Sullivan."

"Standard." Eve said. "Great for elocution."

"How can you possibly know they didn't do anything else?" Buffy asked.

"Cause I saw the man in the white room. He does a lot of scary things, but lying ain't one of them."

"You needed a lawyer to get by here." Eve said. "Charles had the most unused potential. His degrees are all forged, but he's the real deal."

"You want me to sing for Lorne? I could give him a little _Pirates of Penzance_. All of it, actually."

"I would also point out that he did just save the day, without ever resorting to violence." Eve looked at Buffy. "How'd you do? I think you guys are gonna make it work. Yay, team. I'll see you around." Eve walked out the door.

"Of course, saving the day meant getting the scumbag who was ready to sacrifice his own son off on a technicality and then returning said son to said scumbag." Lorne said.

"Fred and I have enough time to disable the charm now. He won't be in danger." Wesley said.

"And Fries is gonna have to dial down the criminal activities 'til this thing comes to trial again." Gunn said, then added smugly, "Which I can draw out for months."

"Is this gonna be our lives now?" Fred asked. :Fighting our own employees, our own clients? Are we really gonna do any good?"

"Yes, we are." Buffy said. "We're gonna change things. We came to Wolfram and Hart because it's a powerful weapon, and we'll figure out how to wield it."

"Or kill ourselves with it." Xander said. "But hey, I've still got a positive outlook."

"Yay, team." Dawn said flatly.

"No. Sooner or later they'll tip their hand, and we'll find out why they really killed Angel and brought us here." Buffy picked up the envelope from her desk. "Meanwhile, we do the work…. our way…. one thing at a time." She ripped open the envelope. "We deal…." An amulet fell out of the envelope. "With whatever comes next." Immediately, the amulet activated. A black whirlwind erupted from it, causing papers on Buffy's desk to stir. The ashen whirlwind started to glow with flecks of orange as something began to materialize inside it. A man's skeletal form appeared, then it gradually filled out until it was complete. The wind faded and Angel was standing there, screaming and groaning in pain, in the middle of the office, right where the amulet fell.

Buffy stared wide-eyed at him. "Angel?" She said softly.


	58. Chapter 58

Chapter 58

Angel doubled over in pain, gasping, as he materialized in Buffy's office at Wolfram & Hart. He looked around him, panic-stricken, at the familiar faces. "What…. what…."

Buffy took a step forward and his eyes fell on her. "Angel?"

"B…. Buffy?"

"Oh my god!"

Spike moved to her side and Angel let out a low growl. "Easy, Peaches. I'm not gonna hurt her."

"Where am I?" Angel asked.

"Wolfram and Hart." Buffy said.

"What?"

Buffy couldn't contain herself any longer. She fell into Angel's arms, but instead of him catching her in a warm, loving embrace, she fell right through him and landed hard on the floor at his feet. Or rather…. IN his feet. Buffy yanked her legs away and shot to her feet.

Angel looked down at his chest in shock. "What's happened to me?"

"Well, I'm no doctor, but I think you're a ghost." Harmony said.

"I'm no…. I'm not a ghost."

"I got a question." Gunn said. "Where'd he come from?"

Wesley picked up the amulet from the floor. "From this."

"What is it?" Fred asked.

"Angel wore it in Sunnydale when we destroyed the Hellmouth. Actually, Angel and that amulet destroyed the Hellmouth." Buffy said.

* * *

Everyone had moved on to the science lab. Wesley was looking into a microscope at the amulet while Fred scanned Angel with a beeping instrument.

"Honey of a story." Lorne said.

"Story?" Wesley asked.

"Yeah! I can't believe I haven't pitched this yet. The vampire Slayer that two vampires loved and lost and only one can get back. Oh, I could sell that to any studio in a heartbeat. I see Depp and Bloom. But then I see them a lot." Buffy looked at Lorne. "Sorry. Hazard of running the entertainment division. Gotta get out more."

Buffy raised an eyebrow. "Johnny and Orlando? Seriously? Could I just go ahead and play myself?"

Lorne laughed. "Sure sugar-rue. You'd be wonderful at playing yourself."

"No one is selling our story." Angel said.

Buffy looked at him. "Hey pal. You're just mad cause you can't play yourself cause you're a ghost."

"I'm not a ghost!"

"Weird." Fred said, picking up a folder. "I'm getting electromagnetic readings consistent with spiritual entities, but there's no ectoplasmic matrix."

"Meaning?" Xander asked.

"Ectoplasm's what makes ghosts visible to the human eye. If he's a ghost, technically we shouldn't be able to see him. And I'm detecting brainwave activity."

"On him?" Spike asked. "That is weird." Buffy walked by Spike and slapped the back of his head. "Bloody hell!"

"Also, ghosts generally absorb light and heat energy making the area around them a few degrees cooler. Angel's radiating heat."

"Well, what the hell am I then?" Angel asked.

"Whatever he is, it's clearly tied to this amulet." Wesley said, holding it up. "Angel's essence, for lack of a better term, must have been held within it." He looked at Buffy. "That explains why the spell never worked." Buffy nodded. "Do you have any memory of a strange sensation when it released its energy?"

"What?" Angel asked. "You mean my skin and muscle burning away from the bone? Organs exploding in my chest? Eyeballs melting in their sockets? Nope. No memory at all."

"Ok, he's connected to the amulet." Buffy said. "But the amulet was buried deep inside of the Hellmouth. How did it end up here?"

"How did you end up here?" Angel asked.

"Long story. Tell you later."

"Maybe he's here for a reason." Fred said. "You know, some higher purpose or something he's destined for. Sent to us by the Powers That Be to help us again or…." Fred looked at Buffy. "To get his job back."

"You're CEO of Wolfram and Hart!?" Angel asked Buffy. "Are you insane!? Do you know what this place is? And why is he here?" Angel pointed and Spike. "And Xander and Dawn too!? And Connor!? I thought I asked you to watch out for him. This isn't watching out for him it's…." Angel started to fade away.

"Angel?" Dawn asked.

"What the…." Angel disappeared.

Fred went over to scan where Angel had been standing. "Now what?" Gunn asked.

"I don't know. He just…."

"Hmm? What? What?" Angel reappeared on the other side of the room.

"Took the 'what's' right out of our mouths." Lorne said.

"Where'd you go?" Connor asked.

"Don't you know?" Fred asked.

"I'm…. I was…." Angel looked at Spike. "This is your fault."

"Mine?!" Spike scoffed.

"You should've worn that thing!"

"Oh, really Angel!" Buffy said. "Stop acting like a three year old. You wouldn't give your amulet up. You have no one to blame this on but yourself."

"Yeah, Casper…. Listen to the woman." Spike said.

"Shut up, Spike!" Buffy, Connor, Xander, and Angel said.

Buffy turned and walked out. Angel walked through the wall and caught up with her. "Are you crazy? This place…."

"What? You were going to take it over."

"But…. You shouldn't have come here."

"And you should've?"

"It's not safe."

"Yes, because I'm such a weakling. I'll never be able to take on all these demons." Buffy rolled her eyes and kept walking.

"You don't know the first thing about being a lawyer."

"And you do?"

"I know enough."

Buffy shook her head and walked through the lobby. "Buffy, it's almost three o'clock." Harmony said. "You have a meeting scheduled…."

"Not now, Harmony." Buffy said.

"Harmony!?" Angel scoffed.

"Yeah, I'm not happy about it either, but she makes good coffee. She finally found her calling in life."

"Grox'lar Beast!"

"What?" Buffy turned to see the Grox'lar Beast had just stepped out of the elevators behind her. She threw a punch at the demon, but the demon punched her back, knocking her down. Angel threw a punch at the demon's head, but his fist went right through without making an impact.

"Brilliant!" Angel groaned. The demon went toward Buffy and after a knock-down, drag-out fight, Buffy finally overpowered the demon, throwing him against the wall, and knocking him out.

"Anybody wanna tell me how a Grox'lar Beast got past security?" Buffy demanded.

"Buffy…." Harmony took a few timid steps forward. "That was your three o'clock."

"That…. I'm meeting with Grox'lars?! They eat babies!"

"Just their heads. You were supposed to open negotiations with his clan."

"Negotiations for what?" Angel asked.

"Get 'em to stop eating baby heads." Gunn said, walking up.

"Why are you in a suit?"

"I'm the lawyer of the group."

"The lawyer?!"

"He had law…. Stuff…. Put in his head." Buffy said.

"What!? From this place!? The Senior Partners are probably using him to watch you."

"We've been over this." Buffy looked at Gunn. "So this…." She gestured to the unconscious demon. "This is bad, isn't it?"

"No, actually." Gunn said. "The Grox'lar clan respects someone who takes a strong opening position. Wolfram & Hart didn't just jack me up here with the human laws, also demon laws from every dimension. Probably should have briefed you about the Grox'lar, but we got a little…. sidetracked. Plus I've been implementing our reforms. Mostly staff overhaul. I've fired 40 employees in the past 2 days."

"How's that going?" Buffy asked, heading towards her office.

Gunn and Angel followed. "As expected. Anger, tears, venomous death threats."

"I bet."

"Caught an associate we laid off trying to smuggle this out of the voodoo division." Gunn held up a voodoo doll that had black skin and was wearing a suit just like Gunn's.

Buffy laughed. "It's a nice likeness."

"Look, we're ruffling a lot of dangerous feathers out there. There's gonna be a backlash. Count on it."

"Well, we'll just have to ride out the ripples for a while."

"I'm sensing a ripple on its way now." Gunn said gesturing towards the door.

A man wearing a loud blue dress shirt and a spotted yellow tie walked in the room. "Yes, uh…. Novac, ma'am. Uh, what's this about you shutting down the Internment Acquisitions Division?"

Buffy shook her head, uncomprehending, and looked at Gunn. "Internet Aqua-what?"

"Grave-robbing." Gunn said.

"Listen, I know you guys are in charge now, and you're doing a bang-up job." Novac said. "I'm with you 110, but that department brings in mucho revenue to this company."

"Well, Novac, we'll just have to do without." Buffy said.

"No, you're not getting it…. Ma'am. I.A.D. is under contract to provide fresh bodies to Magnus Hainsley. You know who he is, right?" Buffy shook her head. "He's one of our oldest clients. Big potatoes. We stop delivering, and he is not gonna be…. thrilled."

Buffy smiled and patted Novac's shoulder. "Then he's probably not gonna like it when you advise him that he's no longer our client."

"Me?"

"You got it, counselor. You tell Mister…. Handy."

"Hainsley." Gunn corrected.

"Hainsley that Wolfram & Hart is under new management and out of the grave-robbing business. Now, run along and go argue your case."

"Me?" Novac squeaked.

"Go." Novac walked toward the door, shuddering at the thought of his assignment.

"What was that?" Angel asked.

"Um…. I'm pretty sure it was a meeting." Buffy said.

Gunn smiled and gave Buffy's shoulders a squeeze. "And you did great, boss."

"Boss?" Angel asked. "You never call anyone that."

"It's cause she's little and…. Well, hot. Besides, I don't want her kicking my ass. Wouldn't be good for the rep." Gunn looked at Buffy. "I'm going to head back to my office and talk to the Grox'lar clan. Reschedule."

"Thanks." Buffy shut the door behind him and turned to look at Angel.

"What's going on? I'm dead for…. How long was I gone?"

Buffy looked away sadly. "A little longer than a month."

"Ok…. I'm dead for a little longer than a month and I come back and you've got my job…. My friends are calling you boss…. Dawn, Xander, and Spike are here…. What the hell happened!?"

Buffy shook her head and leaned on the edge of her desk. "After you died…. Wolfram and Hart offered me your job."

"Why?"

"I don't know!"

"Why did you accept it?"

"Because…. I have my reasons."

"Which are….?"

"My reasons!" Angel stared at her. Buffy sighed and moved around her desk to slump in her chair. She buried her face in her hands and let out a sigh. "I thought I could finish the job you started."

"Obviously."

"No…. Lilah said that you wanted to destroy this place from the inside out…. I thought I could finish it for you so your last intended act on Earth wouldn't be just that…. Intended. It would be finished. And I also figured I could reap some benefits from it."

Angel crossed his arms. "What benefits?"

"My Slayers have an extremely nice new compound that'll be finished within the month. Faith's got a small headquarters of her own in Cleveland to watch that second Hellmouth…."

"There's a second Hellmouth in Cleveland?"

Buffy nodded. "And…. I thought…."

"What?"

"I thought, maybe…. I thought I might find a way to bring you back." Angel walked over to her and placed his hand lovingly on her hair, but his hand went right through her head. He groaned in frustration. Buffy just laughed. "That tickled." Then her laughter turned into tears.

"What's wrong, Buffy?"

"I just…. I've barely made it through the last few weeks. When you…. I thought I'd never see you again and it's hurt so bad. I've always been able to run to you and now…. You're back, but…. This…. This is even worse. You're back, but I can't feel you. You can't hold me and tell me everything is going to be ok."

Angel squatted down to be eye-level with her. "We'll figure it out. Someone will find a way to make me…. Me again. And I'll hold you in my arms and you'll be ok."

Buffy shook her head. "And what if there is no way to make you you again?" Angel just looked at Buffy. He didn't have an answer to that question.


	59. Chapter 59

Chapter 59

Harmony walked into Buffy's office. "Uh, boss? That Novac lawyer you sent over to dump the client? Well, he's back."

"Ok, send him in." Buffy said, glancing at Angel standing next to the windows.

"Mmm…. Ok." Harmony motioned to someone outside the door. Two men in suits walked into the room carrying three buckets full of a sloppy red liquid, one with a bright yellow spotted tie hanging over the edge, covered in blood.

"What is…." Buffy almost gagged when she saw what the men placed on her desk. Angel came over and looked in the buckets. "Oh my…. This is Novac?" Buffy asked the men. They nodded and walked out of her office. She followed them out and went to Harmony's desk. "Harmony, get me Novac's contact list, close relations, next of kin, and please be discreet about this for the time being, ok?"

"Discreet?" Harmony asked. "Oh, you mean like not tell anyone about bucket-o-lawyer."

"Harmony, contact list."

Gunn walked off the elevator and handed a file to Buffy. "Hey, got word you wanted the file on Magnus Hainsley. Dig this. He's a sorcerer, big time. Rich with old money and older mojo. Owns a respectable block of shares in Wolfram & Hart and he's connected up the wazoo. Carries influence with power players in the entertainment industry, politics…."

Buffy flipped through the file as Wesley walked up to them. "He's a necromancer." She paused and then looked at Wes. "What's that?"

"It means he has power over the dead." Wesley said.

"That explains the bodies Wolfram & Hart's been providing him." Buffy walked back into her office with Gunn and Wes in tow. "But not what he's been doing with them."

Gunn looked at the buckets on Buffy's desk. "What's in the buckets?"

"It's a message from Magnus Hainsley." Angel said, looking at Buffy.

"And I'm gonna reply to it personally." Buffy said.

"You can't take Hainsley on yourself."

"I'm not gonna risk him turning somebody else into human-chowder."

"Buffy, you have a multi-billion dollar company at your disposal with armed and trained personnel." Wesley said. "At least call Xander."

Buffy shook her head. "I've got this one."

"We should probably avoid an eye-for-an-eye escalation here."

"Not going for his eyes, Wes."

"I know what you should go for." Gunn said. "It'll hurt him. Bad."

Buffy headed down to her car pool with Angel walking next to her. He sighed. "You got my car pool."

"No. I got MY car pool. I can't see you driving a cute little BMW like that one." She pointed to the little silver convertible. "They gave me cars they thought I would like."

"What happened to mine?"

"I think they put them in storage…. Or gave them to their dealers. I'm not sure." She pointed to a Camero at the end of the garage. "They kept that one here though. Not sure why, though."

"Uh, it's a Camero."

"I prefer Mustangs."

"Buffy!" Buffy and Angel turned to see Spike running up to them. "Wait up."

"What Spike?"

"You didn't think you were going without at least one of your bodyguards, did you?"

"Uh…. Yeah. Kinda did."

"Bodyguard?" Angel asked.

Buffy shrugged. "He and Connor had to get paid for something." She looked at Spike. "Why isn't he here?"

"I won the coin toss. 11 out of 15." Spike said.

"You tossed a coin to see who would…." Buffy shook her head. "It's fine, Spike. I've got this."

"Hey, he's not getting paid to make sure you stay alive." Spike pointed at Angel. "Besides, he's a bloody ghost. What good is he going to do you?"

Buffy looked at Angel. "He's a good conversationalist."

"I'm going and that's final."

She rolled her eyes. "Fine. But you're in the back seat."

"How come Ghostie-Boy gets the front seat?"

"Because he's invited on this trip. You're not."

* * *

A butler let Buffy, Spike, and Angel inside Hainsley's house. "Do you have an appointment with Mr. Hainsley?"

"Let's just say he sent us an invitation." Spike said.

"We're from Wolfram & Hart." Buffy said.

"Mr. Hainsley is with a customer at the moment. I'm afraid he does not suffer interruption lightly." The butler said.

"Yeah, I'm not so worried about his suffering. Go ahead and interrupt."

"As you wish. Please wait here."

"Oh, life among the power elite." Spike said, walking around the foyer. "It's all so civilized. Hainsley grinds up one of your people into chum, and you drop by for tea."

"I'm hoping to avoid a body count here." Buffy said.

"No worries." Angel said, looking towards another room. "Looks like this Hainsley keeps one on hand."

They walked into the adjacent room. It was decorated like a Victorian parlor, complete with a few dozen people standing around posed, as if it were a wax museum. Spike shook his head. "Man likes to play with dollies."

"This isn't for him. It's a showroom." Angel said.

"I don't know. Maybe the geezer's just lonely. Throws himself a surprise party every night. Picks out one of these painted pigeons and shows her a good time, if you know what I mean." Buffy and Angel glared at Spike. "What? I'm sure they don't mind."

"I mind." Buffy said.

"Why? They're the lucky ones, aren't they? It's over for them. They've shuffled off, cleanly, the one time."

"I still mind."

The butler entered the room. "Mr. Hainsley has asked that I send you back to Wolfram & Hart." He held up two butcher knives from behind his back. "In a manner of speaking." He started whipping the knives around menacingly, trying to intimidate the three of them.

"Looks like it's buckets for us, love." Spike said, snickering at Buffy.

She shook her head and picked up a butter knife, throwing it at the butler. It landed dead in the middle of his forehead. At first, he just stood there, but then he raised the knives again. Buffy and Spike moved into defensive positions, but the butler fell over dead. Buffy laughed and shook her head. "That was embarrassing."

"For you or him?" Spike asked, laughing along.

"Both."

"All right giggle twins…." Angel said. The looked over at him. "There's still a necromancer you have to deal with."

"A necromancer?" Spike asked. "You didn't say anything about that!"

"I thought you knew." Buffy said.

"No. I just heard you were off on a dangerous mission and would probably need my help."

"If you're that scared stay up here."

"I'm not scared." Buffy rolled her eyes. "But I am staying up here. This guy could use me to hurt you."

"You should've let Connor win." Angel said, following Buffy.

Hainsley was rinsing his hands off when Buffy broke the door down. "Come in. It's open." He quipped.

"Hainsley." Buffy said.

"Didn't know it was the head cheese herself. I thought for sure you were another lackey. You should show more respect."

A woman lying on the table in the middle of the large room sat up. "Oh, uh, I can see you guys have a thing going on." She walked toward the door. "Don't wanna get in your way. I'll let myself out." Buffy grabbed the woman by the arm as she walked by. The woman's eyes glowed red and she snarled at Buffy.

Buffy rolled her eyes and punched the woman hard, knocking her out. "So how much do you charge, huh?" She asked, turning to Hainsley. "Installing the average demon in a human body? I'm sure a lot of them would love to pass as people."

"Believe me, friend, the average demon can't afford it." Hainsley said.

"I'm cutting off your supply, Hainsley. As of now your body shop is closed."

"Who do you think you're talking to?" Hainsley walked menacingly up to Buffy. He scoffed at Angel. "A ghost? You brought a ghost as your backup?"

"I don't need backup." Buffy pulled out her cell phone and waved it at Hainsley. "I just need this." She hit a button and held the cell to her ear. "Gunn, do it."

"And what was that? Just call in an air strike?"

"Nope. I just had my friend Gunn freeze all your bank accounts, terminate your paper assets, and turn your books over to a very motivated contact we have at the I.R.S. Five minutes from now, you'll have nothing but this house. Ten minutes from now, that'll go into foreclosure."

"You can't do that."

"I'm sure Angel and I can let ourselves out."

"It's not legal. You think you can get away with that? I'll sue you to hell."

"Good luck." Buffy laughed. "We're your lawyers." She walked out.

"This isn't over, Slayer!"

Angel looked at Buffy as they walked out. "That was a good call."

"Whatever it takes, right?" Buffy asked.

"Whatever it…." Angel disappeared.

"Angel?"

"Hey, where's Ghostie?" Spike asked as Buffy walked into the foyer.

"He disappeared!"

"Ah, he'll probably show back up at HQ. So, how'd it go?"

"All taken care of. Hainsley's out of business. Maybe we should wait for Angel."

"What? You want to be here when he comes to seek his revenge? Especially if there's a very solid dead guy in the vicinity?" Spike gently took Buffy's upper-arm and led her out of the house. "He'll be back."

* * *

Gunn followed Buffy and Spike into Buffy's office. "Wiped out every asset we could find on Hainsley." He said. "Wasn't easy. Man's got his fingers in a lot of dirty pies."

"Yeah, well, I think pies are gonna be off his menu for a while." Buffy said.

"Yeah, well, it's gotta hurt. I mean, damn, who doesn't love pie?"

Fred, Dawn, and Wesley walked into the room. "You're back." Fred said.

"Hainsley out of business?" Wesley asked.

"Yeah, for the time being." Buffy said.

"So he's not going away?" Dawn asked.

"Well, I think that, 'this isn't over yet, Slayer,' may be the tipoff. Has Angel popped up here?"

"No. Why?" Gunn said.

"He popped out on me at Hainsley's place. He'll be back, won't he?"

"He should be." Wesley said. "The amulet is tied to Wolfram and Hart, so he should automatically return here."

"Has anybody found anything on how to…. You know, make him solid again?"

"I've had my entire department doing thorough research on the amulet. There's not much. Not in the way of releasing Angel from it, anyway. At least not in the conventional sense."

"And what's the unconventional sense?"

"Eternal rest."

"Wait…. What? Are we…. We're talking about killing him…. Again? He'd be gone-dead. Forever. I want him here. Not dead. Or if he has to be dead, at least be vampire with a soul dead. That's not right."

"I agree, but neither is leaving him here, trapped between realms, with no control over his fate, not able to touch anything, affect anything. Unable to fight. Letting him cross over seems the most merciful thing…."

"No! Figure out a different way. There's got to be a way to bring him back. He's here. He's back. He's just not…." Buffy sighed. "Wesley, look in your books and find a spell or something. Call Willow. Get her and the coven on it. See what they can do. Fred…. Do you think you and Dawn can come up with some brilliant machine to help them out?"

"We can try." Dawn said.

"Good. Try is good. It leads to results." Buffy sighed and massaged her temples, yawning.

"You need sleep." Gunn said. "You've been pulling the crazy hours."

"Yeah." Fred said. "Dawn and I will get to work first thing in the morning."

"I'll take my books home." Wesley said. "We'll find out a way to bring him back."

"Thank you guys." Buffy said, standing up.

"Get some sleep, Buffy. We'll see you in the morning."

Buffy headed up to her penthouse and slipped out of her expensive designer suit and into her old pajama pants and a matching camisole. She slipped into her big bed and underneath the covers.

"Is your bed big enough?" Angel asked, suddenly appearing next to the windows.

Buffy shot up in bed. "Angel! Where did you go?"

"The necromancer tried to make a deal with me."

"What?"

"He said he could bring me back…. body and soul…. If I used our close personal relationship to double-cross you."

"How?"

"He wanted me to kill you and…."

"No, I meant, how could he bring you back?"

"What? Oh…. Using Spike's body."

"Spike? He can't bring your body back?"

"Buffy , even if Mr. Death could do what he promised, I trust him about as much as Giles can throw Andre the Giant."

Buffy nodded. "Well, I have everyone trying to figure out a way to make you solid again. Eventually someone's got to come up with something and…."

"I'm slipping, Buffy."

"What?"

"I don't wanna go, but it's like…. It's like the ground underneath me is…. splitting open and my legs are straddling both sides of this big chasm that's getting wider and wider and it's pulling me in."

"Is that what's happening when you keep vanishing?"

"I know what's down there…. Where it's trying to take me…. and it's not the place heroes go. Not by a long shot. It's the one full of fire and torment. And it's happening. And I'm terrified."

"I'm not going to let that happen, Angel. We'll find a way to stop it. I promise." Buffy smiled assuringly.


	60. Chapter 60

Chapter 60

Buffy, Angel Connor, Dawn, Xander, Wesley, Lorne, Fred, and Gunn were all gathered at a local park chit-chatting. Spike had headed out to some bar instead of joining them. Fred scanned everyone for bugs or wires in case the good folks at Wolfram and Hart decided to eavesdrop on them.

"Hey, uh, who wants some mu shu? I got beaucoup mu shu here." Lorne said.

"I'll take some, thanks." Fred said.

"Buffy, this little picnic was such a good idea." Dawn said.

"Yeah! Why haven't we done this before?" Gunn asked.

"Well, you know, you've all been working so hard…." Buffy said.

"Has anyone seen the plum sauce?" Wesley asked.

Fred stopped scanning and put the scanner back in the briefcase on the picnic table. "We're clean. Nobody's listening."

"You were late." Angel said to Wesley.

"Thought I was being followed." Wesley said.

"I get that we have to be careful, but feels weird hiding from the company we're supposed to be running." Gunn said.

"We're not hiding, we're being safe." Buffy said. "There are factions at Wolfram & Hart, people who want to see us destroyed."

"But still, it's not like everyone there's evil." Dawn said.

"Yeah." Fred agreed. "I mean, we work with these people. Some of 'em I see more than I see you guys, at least lately, anyway."

"And you think you can trust him?" Wesley asked. Fred gave him a look. "Them."

"What?"

"These…. people, the ones you're spending so much time with lately. Knox, for example."

"Uh, we're, you know, heh heh, friendly, but he's under me…. or I'm on top of him. Professionally. All I'm saying is, he…. he's not evil."

"I think we're all agreed that the senior partners are." Buffy said. "They put us in charge for a reason. What we need to know is…. why?"

"We've only been there a month and a half." Connor said.

"Turns out running a company doesn't leave a lot of time for, you know, covert ops." Xander said.

"Yeah, I'm up to my horns in schmoozin' starlets and boozin' hipsters." Lorne said.

"What about Gunn?" Wesley asked.

"What about Gunn?" Gunn asked.

"It's…. well, what they put in your head." Fred said. "All that law knowledge and whatever. Maybe you know something, more than the rest of us."

"The alteration to your mental capacity…." Wesley started.

"My capacity's the same as it's always been." Gunn said. "The good doctor just revved up some idlin' brain cells, set 'em in motion."

"It's a legitimate concern. You gave them access to…."

"I made a deal. We all did. Seems like I'm the only one who's willing to accept that. Everybody here got something out of this."

"Fear, mistrust…. a great motor pool." Buffy said.

"I got the Nancy Sinatra collection. Original 45s." Lorne said.

"I got a new eye!" Xander said happily. "And it's not evil."

"That we know of." Connor pointed out.

"I did get a rather nice pen. Sterling." Wesley said. "Has my name on it. Which is not the point at all."

"No, the point is what, that I'm some spy for the senior partners?" Gunn asked.

"Nobody's saying that." Buffy said.

"Just thinking it."

"No. Gunn…." Dawn started.

"The point is, the senior partners have a plan, and if we're not prepared…." Buffy said.

"Buff, it's not like we don't want to be ready." Xander said. "We just have, you know, big, heaping, full plates."

"Between running our departments, handling clients, dealing with Angel's…. Problem." Wesley said.

"Problem? Is that how we're looking at it?" Angel asked defensively.

"Well, using the amulet to destroy the Hellmouth, it turned you into…."

"A spook?" Lorne interjected.

"He's more than a ghost." Dawn said. "He's something unique."

"Regardless, whatever binds him…." Wesley said.

"Can I borrow your pen?" Buffy asked suddenly.

"Uhh, sure."

Buffy yanked it out of his hand and she and Connor took off. That's when everyone else heard what they had heard. Nearby, a woman screamed as a growling hairy monster followed her, knocking her down to the ground. The monster attacked the girl, slashing her shoulder then biting her neck. Connor pulled the monster off of the girl and Buffy yanked the werewolf away. She punched it then, making sure it didn't look like Oz, she jammed Wesley's silver pen through its chest. The creature fell back to the ground and immediately turned back into the shape of a man. The girl ran away during all the commotion, and the next sound was that of car tires screeching as she sped away.

"What was that thing?" Connor asked.

"A werewolf." Buffy said. "He didn't bite you, did he?"

"No. Why?"

"He bites you, you become a werewolf. They come out every full moon. The night before, the night of, and the night after."

"He bit that woman."

"He did?"

"I can smell her blood on him."

"Then we need to find her before tomorrow night."

* * *

Buffy and Gunn were talking as they walked through the lobby of Wolfram & Hart. "She was bitten." Buffy said. "Connor smelled her blood on wolf-man. Tonight's the second night of the full moon, which means 2 more nights for her to go all dog-girl." Buffy looked at her watch. "Three hours till moonrise, and then…. If she hurts anyone…."

"She won't. We'll find her." Gunn said, patting Buffy's shoulder.

"We better. She won't even know what's happening to her."

"Well, she'll figure it out soon enough. McManus did. The guy you…. killed. I pulled his credit card records, cross-checked 'em with police reports." Gunn and Buffy got on the elevator and Gunn flipped through the file he was carrying. "He left his wife and kids a couple years ago, kept moving, staying in the middle of nowhere most of the time. First year or so, a few mangled bodies showed up here and there, but the last 6 months, guy was leaving corpses like bread crumbs."

"Probably tried to control it for a while and just gave up. Thought he had to fight it alone, ended up with nothing worth fighting for." Angel said behind them, suddenly appearing there.

"You need to stop doing that." Buffy said.

"He keeps doing that?" Gunn asked.

"To me he does! I was in the shower this morning and I opened the door and poof! There he was."

"Hey, if I could do that…." Buffy glared at Gunn. "I wouldn't." Gunn turned on Angel. "You need to stop doing that to her."

Angel chuckled. "Please, Buffy. It's nothing I haven't seen before."

"If you weren't already dead, I would've staked you already." Buffy said. The elevator doors opened and they made their way down to the lab. "Whatcha got for us, Fred?"

"I'm sorry, Buffy. We've got…. Well…. Nothing. We can't find her anywhere."

Buffy stopped. "We're useless? All these resources…."

"We're doing everything we can." Wesley said.

"2 years of history on a dead guy and we can't get one lead on a living, breathing girl."

"Fingerprints." Dawn said. "Have his, don't have hers."

"There must be something at the attack scene." Gunn said.

"So far, not even an earring." Fred said.

"What about tire prints?" Buffy asked.

"I'm working on it. It takes time, Buffy."

"Psychics are working on traces of the girl's blood." Wesley said. "They picked up images, imprints…." He handed a sketch to Buffy.

Angel looked at the pictures over Buffy's shoulder. "Must be her bedroom. Can they make it clearer? Maybe they could…."

"It's not like a photograph."

"Pretty rare breed you've got here." A man said behind them. Buffy turned toward a doctor inspecting the man Buffy killed in the park. The man had a fuzzy graying beard and was rather hairy for a man…. The dead guy. Not the doctor.

"Buffy, this is Dr. Royce." Wesley said. "He's the cryptozoologist on my staff. I brought him in to tell us what we'll be dealing with when we find the girl."

"_Lycanthropus exterus_. Undocumented in North America…. until now, obviously."

"How is it different from a standard werewolf?" Buffy asked.

"Oh, biped, for one thing. Walks upright. Canines are a bit longer than normal. Arm span is…."

"I don't care about that. All I care about is the girl. From here on out, she's under our protection."

"If you find her before she turns." Spike said, walking in with Connor. "Catch her after she goes all growly? Won't be easy taking her out. I had a wee spat with a werewolf myself once. Fought for over an hour. Brutal, vicious. Almost lost my…."

"Buffy killed him with a pen." Connor said.

Spike looked at Buffy. "Did you now?"

Buffy shrugged and looked at Wesley. "Sorry about your pen, by the way."

"No worries. Another one…. A new one, actually, showed up on my desk this morning." Wesley said.

"Nice."

* * *

"Here are those tire pictures you wanted." Lorne said, walking in to the lab and handing a small stack of pictures to Fred.

"Thanks Lorne." Fred said. "Finally!"

"What?" Buffy asked.

"Those fine lines? Bad for the car, good for us. Apparently, they mean old tires, at least 5 years."

"All right. What does that mean?"

"It means we're looking for a mid-size sedan, at least 5 years old, somewhere in the Hollywood area." Wesley said.

"I'm in the DMV database, but there are thousands of possible matches." Dawn said.

"Color me clever." Lorne said. "Sister gets slammed around by a werewolf, she's putting pedal to metal. I mean, red light, green light, same diff."

"Traffic cameras." Gunn said. "We networked?"

"Yep." Dawn said, handing the computer over to Gunn.

"I'm looking at the cameras. You get set to run with it if I find a match. Course I might leak the info to the senior partners, 'cause we're tight."

"Just do it." Buffy said. "Is the van ready?"

"Yep. I triple checked."

"Good, cause we got less than an hour."

"10:19 last night." Gunn said. "1992 Honda Civic ran a red light at Western and Franklin. Blond woman." He handed a printout to Buffy.

"That's her." Buffy showed the picture to Connor.

"Yeah." Connor agreed.

"License number: 2ABM-543." Gunn said.

Dawn typed it in and a minute later said, "Address: 2315 Harvard. Name: Nina Ash."

* * *

Human again, a naked Nina woke up inside a prison cell. She had scratches on her shoulder. Buffy, Gunn, and Connor had captured her the night before just before she was going to attack the little girl in the house. She heard someone walking toward her and gasped. She reached between the bars and grabbed some clothes from a pile sitting right outside her cell. Buffy and Spike walked up to the cell, unlocked the door, and Buffy walked inside.

"What…. who are you?"

"It's ok. My name's Buffy. This is…. William. You're safe now."

"Safe? Oh. Well…. great. That's…." Nina made a run for it, but Buffy grabbed her. "Get off me! Let go of me! Help me, somebody!"

"That's what she's trying to do, Nina." Spike said.

"Said the psycho rapist. How do you know my name? What do you people want with me?"

"We just want you to see something." Buffy said. She allowed Nina to get dressed and then the three of them headed up to Buffy's office.

Angel was standing around in there and turned to look when they walked in. "Buffy, we need to talk…."

"Not right now, ok?" Buffy walked over to her desk and opened the laptop that was sitting there. Using the laptop, Buffy showed Nina a video of a werewolf pacing inside a cage.

"I don't…." Nina shook her head. "What am I supposed to be looking…. God, what is that?"

"You don't remember?" Spike asked.

"Remember?"

"2 nights ago…. You were attacked…. in the woods." Buffy said. "You were jogging."

"Jogging. Wait. Yeah. I remember that I…. that thing attacked me."

"Not exactly. I was in the area, I heard screams, but by the time I got there…."

"That was you. Yeah, I remember you…. You saved me. You and some other guy."

"Connor. Yeah. We were too late." On the video, the werewolf collapsed on the floor of the cage and transformed back into human form…. into Nina's form.

"Oh, my God."

"It was a werewolf, Nina, and you were bitten."

"No. This is…. insane."

"The bite already started a process. You may have already started to feel the effects: Distorted vision, heightened senses."

"Blood. Jill, my sister, she was cooking meat. Oh, my God. I…. I smelled the blood. It was making me…. Oh, God, Amanda, my niece."

"She's ok, and so is your sister."

"No, you don't get it."

"Nina, it's ok."

"No, it's not!"

"You didn't…."

"I wanted to rip her throat out!" Nina sighed, ran her fingers through her hair, and walked toward the window.

"It wasn't you. It was that thing inside." Spike said.

"Oh, like there's a difference?"

"There is, a big one. I know this is a lot to take…."

"Don't tell me what you know. You didn't wake up and find out you're a…. monster. You don't know anything."

"I'm not a werewolf like you, but I…. I know what it's like. I'm a monster, too."

"So…. what? You're like a Frankenstein?"

"What? No! I'm a vampire."

"Vampire."

"But I have a soul. I'm…. I'm not evil."

"And neither are you." Buffy said to Nina gently.

"But vampires kill people, and they…."

"Can control themselves if they want to. Spike and Angel do it every day, and so can you." Buffy paused. "Well, Angel not so much at the moment."

"He's a vampire too?"

"Technically…. A vampire ghost. He was a vampire, but now he's a ghost."

"And you? You're a vampire too?"

"No. I'm a Vampire Slayer."

"Wait…."

"It's all very confusing, I know. Don't try to piece it all together, it'll only give you a bigger headache."

"Can you…. cure me?"

"No. But we can keep you safe."


	61. Chapter 61

Chapter 61

Buffy and Spike walked out of her office, and Fred and Dr. Royce were waiting outside. "How is she doing?" Fred asked.

"Oh, she agreed to stay in the holding cell tonight, but she's pretty scared. So, what do we do now?"

"We wait for the show. Should be a good one. Everyone on pins and needles, dreading the moonrise, then pop goes the werewolf." Spike said.

"I can't stop what's gonna happen, but I can keep her from getting hurt."

"These first few transformations are the worst." Royce said. "Werewolf's strength combined with the disorientation and fear…."

"You mean, she could hurt herself?" Fred asked.

"Oh, I've seen 'em bang their heads against walls, claw at their own skin."

"We'll just have to tranq her, let her sleep through it." Buffy said.

"Well, that could work for tonight, but, uh, over the long haul, bad idea."

"Well, there has to be something." Fred said.

"They like familiar scents, images. Maybe if you took her home, let her get a few things, could have a calming effect."

"Fetching her blanky's not gonna make a bloody bit of difference." Spike said.

"Spike, really not helping." Buffy said.

"I'm just saying, the girl's a killer. Maybe not tonight or tomorrow, but she will get out of that cage."

"Not if she doesn't want to."

"Oh, she'll want to." Royce said. "It's unfortunate, but…."

"And when it's not that time of month? She'll be wracked by the guilties. What with a soul and all." Spike said.

"Didn't seem to bother you." Buffy snapped.

"Oh, it's been nothing but a pain in my ass."

Buffy shook her head. "Fred, take Nina by her house please. And take security in case she changes her mind."

"What are you gonna do?" Fred asked.

"Angel said he needed to talk to me. So…. I'm gonna talk to Angel."

"Oh."

Buffy turned and headed back into her office, shutting the door and locking Spike out. Angel wasn't in the room that she could tell. "Angel?"

"Well, aren't we the busy little beaver now." Angel said, appearing next to her.

"I'm sorry. It's an all of a sudden thing and…."

"It's getting worse."

"Worse? You mean your…."

"Winking out of existence? Yeah. And I'm not talking about quick pops to the netherworld. They're lasting longer now."

"How long?"

"Feels like forever." Angel walked a little closer to Buffy. "Something's trying to hold onto me…. on the other side."

"They're working on it…."

"If you don't do something soon, one of these times…. I may not come back."

Buffy looked at Angel sadly. "Don't say that."

"Why? It's the truth."

"I can't go through it again. I need you here."

"We're going to have to do something fast then."

There was a knock on the door and Buffy turned reluctantly to answer it. Gunn stood on the other side. "Got some papers for you to sign, boss lady." He paused when he saw her shadowed face. "What's wrong?"

She glanced back at Angel and then lowered her voice. "He's fading. He says something's trying to…. To pull him down to hell."

"Have you talked to Fred or Wes about it?"

"Not yet. He just told me." She sighed. "What are the papers?"

Gunn laid the papers down on the conference room table and handed Buffy a pen. "You sign this, we're all set to turn McManus' body over to his family. They've made arrangements to transport his body back to…." Gunn noticed Buffy was staring at Angel intently. "The North Pole. Turns out he had a close personal relationship with Santa. Buffy?"

"What?" Buffy blinked. "Uh, I'm with you. Turning over the…. Santa?"

"Is it Angel again? Is he fading?"

"No…. I was just thinking about Nina." She noticed the look Gunn gave her. "Not like that! I just meant…. She's gonna have a lot to go through."

"Well, that part sucks, no doubt, but…. you did everything you could."

"You know what, Gunn? Don't need a pep talk right now." Buffy shook her head. "I need…. A miracle."

"Well, I don't think we have a division for that, but I'm sure…."

Buffy chuckled. "Where do I sign?"

"Here. And here." Buffy signed the papers. "Thank you."

"Welcome."

"Listen, once this thing with wolf-girl is over, we can focus all our attention on getting Angel back. Make it priority one."

"I hope so." She looked over at Angel. He was staring out of the window at the sunlight streaming in.

* * *

Buffy sat with Wesley, Gunn, Fred, Dawn, Xander, and Connor at the conference table. Fred had gotten ambushed at Nina's house and they had gotten Nina.

"Lorne's read the entire security team already, and the lab staff, as well as half of my department." Wesley said.

"If the kidnappers have someone inside Wolfram & Hart, Lorne'll know." Buffy said. "Right?"

"What if she was detected somehow before we found her?"

"Yeah, but by who?" Gunn asked.

"The scariest thing was how organized they were, almost military." Fred said.

"An underground monster-hunting military organization?" Xander said. "Who would ever think of that?!"

"It's all my fault. I'm stupid." Fred said.

"Anything happens to Nina, it's on me." Buffy said. "I should've been the one to take her there."

"You had other matters to deal with." Gunn said.

"That's weird. Why don't I just approach the mysteriously ajar door?" Fred mocked.

"Stop with the mocking. Get enough of that from blondie bear."

"Has anyone seen Spike?" Buffy asked.

"He was flirting with Harmony last I saw." Connor said. "Where's dad?"

Buffy's face fell. "I don't…. Has anyone seen him?"

"No." Gunn said.

"It's been hours!"

Royce knocked on the door, then entered the conference room. "What do you got?" Gunn asked him.

"Usual suspects. There's the sacrificers, wackos who want to rid the world of abominations, and werewolf packs looking for new recruits. Then there's the paranormal sporting groups."

Buffy saw a sort of transparent Angel walking through the lobby. "I'll be…." She ran out of the office with the others protests disappearing behind her. She followed Angel through the lobby. "Angel! Wait. Stop!" He walked down the hall, seemingly unable to hear her. He just kept walking and then turned and walked through a wall.

Buffy followed him, going through the adjacent door into an office. "Angel, wait!" He disappeared through the wall. "Angel!" In her haste, Buffy knocked over a trashcan. "Ohh! Oh, damn. Like he can't hear me. Just whoot! Right through the…." She started putting the trash back into the trash can, but stopped when she noticed a weird vial in the trashcan.

Just then, Dr. Royce walked into the office. "Were you looking for me?"

"Oh, is this your office? I'm so sorry. I was following Angel, and I kind of made a mess. He just went right through the wall. It's so annoying when he does that, 'cause there's nothing you can do to…. Oh, what the hell?" Buffy knocked the hell out of Royce, sending him to the ground in an unconscious heap. She walked over to his desk and dialed Xander's number.

"Xander Harris."

"Xand, it's Buffy. Get some of your boys down here to Dr. Royce's office please."

"What's up?"

"It's always the quiet type."

"Be there in a jif."

A few minutes later, Fred, Wesley, Gunn, and Connor were snooping around in Royce's office with Buffy. "You're right." Wesley said, examining the vial. "It's Calendula. He must've known we'd have him sing for Lorne."

"So he came prepared to block the reading." Fred said. "It's like taking a valium to pass a polygraph test."

"I just saw the vial in the trash can and it smelled funky." Buffy said.

"How'd you end up going through Royce's trash anyway?" Gunn asked.

"It was…. well, Angel. He led me in here."

Gunn pulled out the false bottom of a drawer revealing Polaroid photos, a knife, and papers. "Yo! Here we go! We got ourselves a secret panel."

Xander walked in. "I'm letting Spike rough Royce up a bit. He'll get him to tell us where Nina is."

"Good." Buffy said, taking the Polaroids from Gunn. "Are they….? Eww!"

"What?" Connor asked. He and Xander walked over and looked at them before Buffy dropped them in the trashcan.

"Burning." Xander suggested. "Burning would be good for those."

Wesley held up the knife. "Not exactly an autopsy knife."

"You're not gonna believe this." Gunn showed the paper to Buffy.

"Oh…. God." Buffy said.

Xander took the paper and read it, then passed it on. "That's just…. I miss good old fashioned Twinkies."

"What is…. A menu!?" Connor asked.

"They're gonna eat Nina?" Fred asked, looking at the menu.

"Let's hope Spike got that location outta Royce." Buffy said, heading towards the door.

* * *

Gunn knocked on the door and a waiter answered it. He opened the small window and Buffy shoved Dr. Royce's face up to look back at him. He opened the doors and Gunn knocked out the waiter. He, Buffy, Spike, Connor, Wesley, and Dr. Royce walked into the house.

"I'm all up in the law now, but damn it feels good to get my violence on." Gunn said.

"Crane's not gonna like this." Royce said.

"If I were you, I'd just be hoping the girl's alive." Buffy said.

"She has to be, at least through dinner." Wesley said. "Once a werewolf dies, it reverts to its human state."

"You mean, to eat werewolf, they got to eat her alive?" Gunn asked.

A man walked up to them and looked at Royce. "Evan, you've brought guests."

"We're just here to pick up a friend." Buffy said. Gunn pointed a shotgun at the man, who had to be Crane. Buffy knocked out the chef with a silver platter and Spike walked up to Nina, who was still lying on the cart, gagged.

"They garnished you?" He asked as he untied Nina's gag.

"No, get away! Just let them choke on me." Nina said.

Spike unshackled Nina by hitting the cuffs with a metal urn. "Listen to me. Tomorrow you're gonna be home."

"This is what I am. I can't go back there, ever. This is better."

"Nothing better about ending up in a doggy bag."

"What, no leprechaun souffle?" Gunn asked, reading the menu.

"There's no such thing as leprechauns." Crane said.

"I told you so!" Buffy said to Spike. Other men with guns snuck up on Wesley, Connor, Buffy, and Gunn, pointing cocked weapons at them.

"We've hit a snag." Wesley said to Buffy.

"We're not leaving without the girl." Buffy said, stepping up to Crane.

He just raised an eyebrow. "I'm willing to let my men die. Can you say the same?"

"I go, you're going with me." Gunn said, pointing his shotgun at Crane's face.

"It's a risk. What can I say?"

"Probably should've told me to drop this." Spike said behind Crane. Crane turned and Spike threw an urn in the air, then sucker punched Crane. Someone shot Spike, knocking him back. Nina turned into a werewolf and growled as she lunged at the guests. She bit a man on the neck, ripping his throat out. Gunn pointed his shotgun at Nina, but hesitated. Nina knocked him to the ground, but before she could attack him, Connor shot her with a tranquilizer dart. Nina fell to the ground and Gunn let out a sigh of relief.

"This is the part where we take our friend and go." Buffy said to Crane.

"I'm afraid not." Crane said. "Tonight may not be salvageable, but my guests have paid a high price….Some higher than others. And I promised them a werewolf." Nina rolled over suddenly and bit Dr. Royce's leg. He screamed in pain.

Buffy shrugged. "And a month from now, you'll have one."

"No." Royce cried. "No. Mr. Crane, please. Oh, no! No, please don't do this to me, Mr. Crane! I'm sorry!" Crane's cronies dragged Royce out of the room. "Mr. Crane, I'm sorry! No! Ohh! Mr. Crane, I'm begging you! No! Mr. Crane! Please! No!"

* * *

Buffy walked into her penthouse and turned on the light. Angel was standing in the corner, only the faintest of shadows and barely visible. "Angel! I've been looking for you. You were there again."

"I didn't think I was coming back." Angel said quietly.

"But you did. Mostly. And you led me to Dr. Royce's office, which was…. not on purpose, was it? But still…. you're here."

"But for how long?"

"I am going to find a way to bring you back. I promised. I talked to the gang…. They're all getting on it now." Buffy noticed Angel was becoming less and less transparent, nearly as visible as he was before.

"Well, all right, then." He said with a smirk. "No need to get all dramatic." Buffy sighed with relief. "Is everything ok? Did you get the wolf thing figured out?"

"Yeah. Xander is taking her home in the morning. I think he kind of digs her."

"At least she's not a demon."

"Nope, just a werewolf. He'll be like the male version of Willow in high school."

"Yeah."

"I wish there was more I could do for you. I feel so helpless. I'm not good with the book smarts…. I'm no science geek…. All I can do is smash some heads and yell."

"You being here for me is enough."

"But I feel like I'm pushing all the work off on them…."

"They understand, Buffy. They know you're not good in their areas. That's why you're not in those areas and they are."

"Yeah."

"I wish I could hold you right now."

"Me too." Buffy held up her hand and Angel held his palm up to hers without going through her hand. She closed her eyes and pretended to be able to feel his palm against hers.

"I can almost feel that." Angel said quietly.

"Soon. You will soon enough." She smiled up at him and he smiled back.


	62. Chapter 62

Chapter 62

Fred was walking down the hall toward the laboratory with Buffy. As she rounded the corner a man walked out of the lab as they walked in. "Good night." Fred called.

"Good night."

Fred stood by a lab desk reading papers in her file while Buffy sat on the table and fiddled with her hair. Fred sensed something or someone behind her. Startled, she gasped and turned to look, but there was no one there. When she turned back around, she saw Angel standing right in front of her. Fred let out a little scream and dropped her papers.

Buffy just sat on the table and laughed. "Welcome to my world."

"He does that a lot?" Fred asked, picking up her papers.

"It's becoming a habit with him."

"I'd give you a hand with that, but…." Angel ran his hand right through some science equipment.

"Still no interaction?" Fred asked.

"Not even a twinge. What a sad ghost I've turned out to be."

"I've told you before you're not a ghost. You're more than a common spectral disturbance. I've never seen anything like you." Fred picked up a beeping instrument and started scanning Angel again.

"Bet you say that to all the spirits."

"Oh, your radiant heat signature's dropped another .02 degrees."

"Thought it was a little cold in here."

"Is everything…." Buffy hopped off the desk and walked over to him. "Are you…."

"Feeling the tug of eternal damnation? Maybe that's why I can't touch anything. I'm using all my mentalities just to keep from slipping into hell."

"I won't let that happen."

"I've been working on a theory." Fred piped up. "Well, more of a hunch, actually, but I think I'm getting close."

"To making me a real boy again?"

"Heh. As real as a vampire with a soul can be." Fred paused. "I wonder if this is the prophecy."

"What prophecy?"

"The shan-shoe-ha something or other."

"Well, I'm not a human…. So…. No shanshu-ing here."

"Ah! That totally makes sense."

"What does?" Buffy and Angel chorused.

"The fluctuations in your readings. Lack of particle cohesion. It's almost as if your essence is straddling a dimensional void, which may be the key, assuming that the amulet you used to save the world is some sort of trans-reality amplifier capable of focusing massive quantities of mystical energy."

"And what in English does that mean?" Angel asked.

"It means that if I can defy most of the laws of nature, there's a good chance I'll be able to anchor you to this plane and make you corporeal."

"Well…. There just might be a hug in your future, Fred." Angel tried to lean on the nearby lab desk, but fell through and disappeared.

"Angel!" Buffy cried.

* * *

Buffy spent the next day searching for Angel. She had a ton of work to do, but she couldn't bring herself to do it while Angel was missing. If he had been sucked into hell…. She didn't know what she would do. As she was walking back into her office, Eve stopped her.

"We need to talk."

"About you showing up out of the blue and demanding things? Sure, let's talk."

"It's about Fred."

"What about her?"

"She's $800,000 over her quarterly budget."

"And?"

"The quarter isn't over."

"Again I ask…. And?"

"What is she doing?"

"Everything she can to bring Angel back."

"The firm has more important things to worry about than a ghost."

"Do you like your job?"

"You can't fire me, honey. Only the Senior Partners can do that."

Buffy rolled her eyes. "Just like how only the Senior Partners know about that amulet. Something tells me they could tell me how to fix Angel."

"They won't."

"I figured as much…. Seeing as how they're the ones that sent the damn thing to him in the first place."

"They have their reasons and when they want you to know them, they'll tell you. Until then…."

"Until then, this firm is mine and I say Fred can spend all she wants. And when her efforts bring Angel back, then we'll start talking about money-savers in her division." Buffy shut the door in Eve's face.

* * *

Later that night a commotion in the lobby drew Buffy out of her office. She went out to investigate and saw Angel pacing madly around the lobby. Wesley, Gunn, Fred, Eve, Spike, Dawn, Xander, and Connor were standing around Angel questioning him.

"Right now?" Spike asked.

"Yes. Right now! Right here!" Angel turned and looked at someone past Fred's shoulder. "I'm trying to have a conversation here! Shut up!"

"Who's he talking to?" Buffy asked.

"Ghosts." Wesley said.

"Where?"

"Everywhere! They're coming out of the woodwork!" Angel yelled. "No, I am not talking to you! Go away!"

"We just checked with security." Gunn said.

"They do hourly sweeps with the mystics to secure against spectral intrusion." Eve said.

"So how many are we dealing with?" Buffy asked.

"None." Gunn said. "Last sweep was 10 minutes ago. Angel's the only non-corporeal in the building."

"Check again!" Angel said.

"Maybe we should go back to the lab?" Fred said.

"No, I'm telling you, they're here. You have to check again. Something's happening! Fred, please, you have to use that perfect brain of yours and get me the hell out of here." Angel faded away.

"Angel!?" Buffy called.

"Where'd he go?" Eve asked.

"He does this sometimes." Fred said.

"We should spread out, see if we can find him. We just need to find him." Buffy said.

"Buffy does have a point." Wesley said. "Angel has been unintentionally disappearing more and more frequently."

"I know he's done this before, but you saw the way he was acting." Buffy said. "Something's different this time. He's agitated, hallucinating."

"Ghosts can do that?" Connor asked.

"We are dealing with a unique case here as far as manifestations go." Wes said. "Dementia isn't completely out of the question."

"He's not crazy." Buffy said.

"Screaming about people who aren't there?" Gunn asked. "That's grounds for involuntary committal under the Lanterman-Petris-Short Act which states…. Oh, sorry. Sometimes the law they stuffed in my noggin just clicks on."

"You don't know what Angel's dealing with, where he goes when he disappears. He told me. It's hell. He's slipping into hell."

"Hasn't he done that before too?"

"Well…. Not so much slipped as I shoved a sword in his heart and sent him there." Buffy shook her head. "So not the point right now. Guys, Angel's slipping. If we lose him…. We can't. We cannot lose Angel like this. I got him back and I'm going to keep him. Fred, get back down to the lab and keep working on your theory. I'm no genius, but it sounded to me like you were on to something. Wesley, start going through your books hardcore. Call Willow and the coven and get them cracking too. Have Giles go through his books too. His collection may have something yours doesn't. Gunn…."

"You know…. I have this kooky idea." Xander said suddenly. They all looked at him. "Well, Angel's a ghostie-guy, right? Why not try a good old fashioned séance?"

"Would that work?" Dawn asked.

"It might." Buffy said, looking at Wesley.

"I'll make some calls."

* * *

"Perhaps we should reconsider this." Wesley said suddenly. He sat at the conference table with Buffy, Connor, Dawn, Xander, Spike, Gunn, and Fred. They were waiting for Eve to bring in the psychic to help them find Angel.

"You think?" Gunn asked. "Seen enough horror flicks to know these things always turn out ugly." Eve escorted a pretty blonde woman in a red dress into the room. "I stand corrected."

"All right. Let's get to it. Eve tells me that you've lost a ghostie." The woman said.

"Well, he's not actually a ghost technically. More of a…." Buffy started.

"Yeah, whatever. Now, I have pilates at the crack of why-am-I-awake? So we're gonna move this right along. I will mutter a few calming words to get us into the zone, and then we'll see if we can scare up your missing spook. Ok. Clear your minds…. which, judging by the looks of you, won't be that hard."

"Should we hold hands?" Fred asked.

"Only if you're lonely. Now, zip it and let me do my sweet funky. I call upon the guardian of souls, the keeper of the passage. Let our breath flow from what is to what has passed. Bless us with the presence of the lost. Grant us communion with the world beyond our reach. Give voice to those who can no longer be heard. I beseech you, open your gates…. reveal your secrets." Her eyes opened with a start. "I sense a presence. Very close…. So much pain…."

"He's in pain?" Buffy asked.

"The dark soul…. so much suffering. It's coming…. it's coming…. Oh, God. I can feel it. The dark soul…. it's here. It's…. it's the R…. It's the…." The woman grabbed her own throat, trying to pull at her necklace.

"Whoa!" Gunn said.

"What's happening?" Fred asked. The woman sat up and gasped as if she was regaining her composure. She had a slight nosebleed. "Are you all right?" The psychic woman exploded in blood all over Fred, then collapsed.

Gunn and Buffy walked out of the room and into Buffy's office. "Ok, what the hell was that? I know they used to call Angel the Scourge of Europe but why would he go all Scanners on her?"

"He wouldn't." Buffy said.

"You saying it was an accident?"

"Or whatever she contacted wasn't the dark soul we were expecting."

"So if she wasn't talking about Angel…."

"Then there's something else here at Wolfram & Hart. Something else a hell of a lot worse."

* * *

Buffy, Gunn, and Wesley stood around Wesley's office rummaging through the books. "Got it. The dark soul." Gunn said.

"What's it say?" Buffy asked.

"A lot. There are over 3,200 different references. Four of them are actually about you and Angel."

"What? Give me that." Buffy took the book from Gunn.

"This is getting us nowhere." Wesley said.

"Well, that's not fair. I was under Dracula's thrall!"

"There has to be a way to narrow down the search."

"Dracula's real?" Gunn asked.

"Was." Buffy said.

Fred ran into the room, her hair still wet from the shower she had left to take. "Reaper. Cross reference with the word reaper."

"Where'd you pull that?" Gunn asked.

"It came to me in the shower."

Buffy flipped through her dark souls book and found it. "Here it is. Matthias Pavayne, dark soul number 182."

"Pavayne…." Wesley went to his computer.

"Well, there's not much here. European aristocrat, 18th century. He was a doctor, nicknamed 'The Reaper' for performing unnecessary surgery on his patients."

"Well, what kind of surgery?" Fred asked.

"The kind you don't recover from." Wesley said. "There's a file on him in internal archives, classified histories."

"He worked for Wolfram & Hart?" Gunn asked.

"Not exactly. Word spread of his unorthodox practices…. fled to California, still under Spanish rule at the time. His arrival coincided with a rash of brutal, ritualistic murders. Pieces of the victims placed in a manner suggesting an intimate knowledge of the dark arts."

"Pieces?" Buffy asked.

"The slaughter continued for the better part of 20 years. The perpetrator was never caught." At least…. not by the authorities."

"What, you're saying Wolfram & Hart took this guy out?"

"Why would they do that?" Fred asked.

"Sounds like their idea of employee of the month." Gunn said.

"Because they needed his blood." Wesley said. "Representatives from Wolfram & Hart were looking to build a new branch in what would eventually become Los Angeles. Unfortunately a Spanish mission was already resting on the site their seers recommended. They needed an appropriate sacrifice to deconsecrate the grounds."

"So this place is built on the blood of a mass-murdering psychopath?" Buffy asked.

"It would appear so."

"That's…. reassuring."

"But if Pavayne's half as bad as he sounds, he should've been roasting his chestnuts in hell centuries ago." Gunn said.

"You said something about the dark arts, right?" Buffy asked. "Maybe he knew enough to figure out a way to, you know, stick around."

"That might explain why the mystics can't get a bead on him, too." Fred said.

"What I still don't get are all the ghosts at Wolfram & Hart."

"But there aren't any." Wesley said.

"That's what I mean. This place? High-risk employment. People die here all the time. This place should be full of spooks. So what happened to them?"

"Maybe this Pavayne character's munching on them." Gunn said.

"Whatever he's doing to them, we need to get Angel back…. before he's next."


	63. Chapter 63

Chapter 63

Wesley, Gunn, and Buffy walked into Fred's office, and she was writing formulas on the windows. "That's never good." Wesley said.

"Why?" Buffy asked.

"It means she's going crazy." Gunn said.

"What?" Fred asked, looking up at them. "Oh, no, I…. I just ran out of white board. I'm not crazy. Again."

"Just scary smart."

"You really think this will bring Angel back?" Buffy asked, unable to make any sense of any of it.

"Well, I had to extrapolate a new variation on interdimensional plasma dynamics on the fly, but…. if the math holds…." Fred said.

"All right. First we'll try to get Angel back, and then we'll deal with Pavayne."

"Wait. For this to work, it's going to require a massive surge of dark energy to catalyze the process."

"How massive?"

"The equivalent of nuclear evil."

"Well, where the hell are we supposed to find that?"

"Well…. there is a legend that tells of a volcano deep in the forbidden jungles of South Africa." Wesley said.

"Or…." Gunn chimed in. "I might know a place a little closer to home."

* * *

Buffy and Gunn were standing in the white room where the Beast had sucked that black energy from the little girl only the year before. "The white room?" Buffy asked nervously.

"Why do you think they call it that?" Gunn asked. "And how are we still in the building, when we're standing in a place that technically doesn't exist."

"So this is your brainstorm. You want to try and to just snip off a piece of the conduit that connects Wolfram & Hart to the other dimensions."

"Want may be a hair strong."

"Hey…. They last conduit took the form of that creepy little girl. No telling what the new one's decided to look like."

"Actually, it's not that bad….If you like cats."

Buffy looked over to see a beautiful black panther walking up to them. "Awe, kitty!" The panther purred at Buffy.

"He likes you." Gunn said.

"Hi. We're not here to ruffle anything." She held up an empty flask. "We were just wondering if we maybe could borrow a couple of whiskers or…."

The animal snarled and Gunn took the flask from Buffy. "Whoa. Hey, easy. It's me. Charles Gunn. You know I wouldn't be here if the situation wasn't heavy. Just asking for a little help: Me to you, personal favor. What do you say? Yeah. Who's a good kitty?" Gunn petted the panther lovingly.

"I always wanted one of these as a pet." Buffy said. The panther turned its eyes on her and walked up to her. Buffy tensed, waiting for it to pounce on her head, but instead, it rubbed against her legs like a house cat. "Awe! Pretty kitty!" She reached down and petted the panther.

* * *

Fred, Dawn, and Wesley were working in the lab on an elaborate machine when Gunn and Buffy walked in. "Make sure it's calibrated to minus .058." Fred said to Wesley before turning to look at Buffy and Gunn. "Did you get it?"

Gunn handed Fred the flask containing about a liter of a dark liquid. "Make it count. Told me we ain't getting anymore."

"It talks?" Buffy asked. "I didn't hear it talk."

"Maybe you weren't listening right."

Fred handed Dawn the flask and Dawn put it in the machine. "All right, I think we're almost ready." Dawn said.

"How do we let Angel know?" Buffy asked.

"Won't have to." Wesley said.

Fred started up the machine. "This baby puts out enough juice to light up ghost city. Anything remotely spectral around here is about to get the tinglies." Buffy looked nervously at a ring on the floor, painted with symbols around the edge. The machine controls were hooked up to the ring.

Dawn read the scanner, which beeped loudly. "He's here." She said. "Angel, step into the circle! Hurry! We've only got one chance at making you corporeal again…." Dawn was cut off when she started choking. She put her hands to her throat.

"Dawn!" Buffy screamed.

"It's Pavayne!" Gunn said.

"He's killing her!" Buffy, Gunn, and Wesley charged toward Dawn to try and help her, but Pavayne knocked them all across the room. "Dawn!"

Suddenly, Buffy could see Angel and Pavayne. She didn't know how because she could tell the others couldn't, but somehow she could. Maybe because she was supernatural like Angel and Pavayne. "Decisions." Pavayne said to Angel. "The girl…. heh…. or the flesh. There's no time for both." Angel stared at the machine's ring which was amping up, clearly almost ready to do it's magic, then he looked at Buffy across the room. "There's hope for you yet, boy."

Angel disappeared and reappeared beside Dawn. "Not really." He knocked Pavayne into the machine's ring just as it activated. Pavayne was now corporeal. Buffy got to her feet and walked up to the machine's ring, while Gunn, Fred, and Wesley went to Dawn's side.

Pavayne stood and looked at his body. "No. No! Defilers! I'll…. cut you into nothing! I'll feast on your brains. I'll swim in lakes of your own blood."

Buffy punched Pavayne, knocking him down. "You'll shut the hell up."

Angel reappeared next to Buffy. "Don't kill him. If he becomes a spirit again, we'll never stop him."

"Fine. No killing. Just a whole lot of bruising." Buffy punched Pavayne again, putting all of her Slayer strength behind it. He fell to the floor, unconscious, and a large red whelp that would eventually turn really purple appeared on his temple. Buffy looked up at Angel sadly.

* * *

Buffy sat alone in her penthouse staring out at the city beyond. She had tried to work that day, but she was just too upset over not getting Angel back. Dawn was ok. A little bruising around her neck, but the doctors had released her that morning. Everyone was downstairs going about their business.

"I don't suppose you built a spare?" Angel said, appearing next to Buffy.

"Most of the pieces Fred used on that one were practically nonexistent to start with." Buffy looked up at him as he sat down next to her. "Even if she could replace them, the chances of finding another power source are…. Well, let's just say we have a better chance making Spike civilized." A tear coursed down her cheek. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be, love. I made my choice and I wouldn't change it for the world."

"Fred says there are other things we could try. They're a little riskier, but…."

"No. I'm not gonna end up like Pavayne: cheating hell any way he could, no matter who it hurt." Angel smiled. "It's not so bad, really. Plenty of room to roam around in. I've got the most amazing company. Hey…. I even picked up a few new tricks." Angel picked up the picture of Buffy, Joyce, and Dawn off the coffee table. Buffy laughed. "I guess there are worse things than being a ghost."

"Yeah, like what we did with Pavayne. He's locked up in permanent storage for all eternity."

Angel shuddered. "Like I said…."

* * *

A few days later, Buffy walked through the lobby covered in disgusting demon goop. Wesley spotted her and walked up to her. "Buffy, how did the new neural-intercept grenade work?"

"It didn't." Buffy handed the grenade to Wesley with a glare.

"Right. I'll take it down to Fred and have her look at it."

Lorne caught up to her. "Hey, Buffy-heart?" He turned and called after Wes, who was walking away. "Hey, Wes, if you see Fred, can you have her pencil me in for later? I gotta talk to her about Henry Fonda's big comeback."

"All right." Wes called back.

Lorne followed Buffy, who was walking steadily away toward her office. "Buffy, Buffy. We've gotta have a confab. Es muy importante?"

"What?" Buffy asked.

"Uh, it's about the party? I've done all I can do for the big to-do, but we've still got a few bugs to comb out of the cootie garage." Buffy frowned and started to close her door. "A bridge too far? Uh, let me try it again. Uh…."

"Look, Lorne, I've been out all night, ok? I'm beat up, I'm exhausted, I'm covered head to toe in Thraxis blood, which actually kind of burns, so this is all gonna have to wait until I take a shower." She started to shut the door.

"You killed the Thraxis?"

"Shower." Buffy shut the door in Lorne's face. She turned around and was startled by Angel standing there.

"Are you ok?" He asked. "You look…."

"Like a Thraxis demon exploded all over me? Yeah. That's pretty much what happen." Buffy looked down at her outfit. "Once again I ask myself why I insist on wearing such pretty, expensive stuff when the Dollar Store is so much more economical and Slayage-friendly." She walked through Angel and headed to her elevator.

"Shower?"

"Shower." Buffy said.

Angel followed her into the elevator. "You still look beautiful."

Buffy snorted. "Yeah, cause I really feel it. What's the best way to get this gunk out of my hair?"

"Without shaving?" She glared at him. "Four shampoos and two conditionings usually works. On the second conditioning, use cool water instead of hot water."

"Thank you." The doors opened and Buffy made a bee-line for her shower.

* * *

Buffy turned off the shower and Angel, who was sitting on the toilet waiting for her, handed her a towel. She shook her head and smiled, wrapping herself up. She started to head into her bedroom when she noticed Eve sitting on her bed.

"Hi. Uh, the door was open. Well, unlocked." Eve said. "I had a key." Buffy held out her hand and Eve gave her the key, which Buffy threw on the table. "Were we having some girl time?" Buffy just glared. "I mean, I understand. You're running the whole circus now, a lot of pressure, especially with your hands-on policy. No pun intended." Eve noticed Angel walking out of the bathroom behind Buffy. "I'm sure you could use a release."

"No releasing, just bathing." Buffy said, glancing at Angel. "That's what one does after bashing open a demonic piñata full of rancid Tabasco. What do you want, Eve?"

"You stood me up. We had a 7:30, Buffy, a meeting."

"Ok." Buffy stared at Eve.

"I'll wait for you in the hall."

"Thank you."

Angel watched Eve walk out and then looked at Buffy. "So, she can just barge in anywhere."

"Not after that." Buffy said, going through her closet.

Angel looked at the clothes in Buffy's closet. "Do you like dressing like this?"

"Like what?" She grabbed a pair of black dress pants and a long, white, button-up shirt.

"Like…. A businesswoman."

Buffy shrugged. "It's a look." She went behind her beautiful, antique dressing screen and changed quickly.

Angel watched her put on black, four inch pumps that had a strap that wrapped around her ankles and looked like a whole shoe with a peep-toe at the bottom. "Well, let's just hope you don't need to slay anything."

Buffy just looked at him and shook her head. "I've slayed in shoes that were much less slay-worthy and I've been fine. Besides," She held up her foot. "All my heels have a wooden tip."

"Shoes that double as stakes? I wonder who thought of that."

Buffy smiled and walked out of her bedroom, tossing her long, wet hair up in a messy bun. Angel followed her out and they met Eve by the waiting elevator. "So, how's it going, Buffy?" Eve asked.

"Oh…. I don't know. Good. Bad. Look, Angel spent years doing everything he could to bring this company down and in the end, they killed him and turned him into a ghost. So, I pretty much get that this place is a bad place and now I'm the CEO." Buffy said. "I have to question every move I make because any one of them could be exactly what the Senior Partners want, so, no, I have no idea how it's going."

"Hey, at least you can still get your nocturnal jollies saving the downtrodden from things that go bump in the night."

"Well, you said it yourself. Everyone needs a release."

"No. I said you need a release. Not everyone bottles all this stuff up like you."

"I don't bottle."

"You bottle."

"I don't bottle." When the elevator doors opened, a huge skull was there in the doorway. Buffy reflexively kicked it, and the man holding the foam skull fell down to the floor, groaning. Buffy looked around to see there were lots of people with similar costumes busily working to decorate the lobby. "Hey, why does it look like we're having a party in here?"

"Well, maybe 'cause we're having a party in here." Lorne said, walking up. "The Wolfram & Hart Halloween Bash? Ring a bell? The biggest event on the company calendar? I sent you a small forest's worth of memos on it."

"We're having it here?"

"You see what I'm up against?" Lorne asked Eve.

"That's what our 7:30 was about, Buffy." Eve said. "Your party."

"My party?" Buffy asked.

"Yeah, listen. Here's the snafu in a nutshell, top cat." Lorne said. "Uh, nobody's comin'. Well, some people are coming, but the right people, the A-list people, they seem to be giving it a miss, and if they don't show up, this shindig is gonna be a bust."

"Good." Angel said. Buffy looked up at him. "What? They're evil."

"Yeah, I gotta go with Angel on this one, Lorne." Buffy said.

"What!?" Lorne asked.

"I wasn't too crazy about this thing to begin with. I'm all for parties, but not with the sort of folks that would be coming to this thing. I'd be a lot happier if the whole thing just kind of…. fell through. Then we could get back to…."

Lorne, rubbing his head, laughed out loud. "Ha ha ha! Ok! Ok! You're killin' me. Can't you just feel up the big picture, Miss. Magoo? It's not about good and evil. It's about party. Party! Capital P! Rhymes with me?" Lorne was yelling now. "About to have a stroke here 'cause you're killin' me!" He suddenly calmed down. "Listen. I can see that you're in a…. a state, a…. a mood, a…. a snit even." He stuffed a huge black silk flower into Buffy's arm. "So what say we talk about this once you've…. calmed down a bit?"

Buffy looked at Lorne, confused. "Ok."

"Great." Lorne walked away. "Your office. 25 minutes."


	64. Chapter 64

Chapter 64

The whole gang had gathered in Buffy's office, except Lorne. Even Spike had shown up. Buffy sat at her desk, frowning. Gunn and Connor were sitting on Buffy's desk. Dawn sat on one of the couches with Xander. Eve was sitting in the chair across from Buffy's desk. Fred was standing near the windows, as was Spike. Wesley was sitting in a chair in the corner. Angel stood behind Buffy and admired the weapons that were displayed on the wall behind her around a huge, ornate Chinese fan.

"In my day, no self-respecting creature of the night went out on All Hallow's Eve." Spike said. "We left that to the posers, the blighters who had to dress up and try to be scary." Buffy pressed a button that caused the windows to fog. "Magic windows. Will the perks never end?"

"And if I remember correctly," Buffy said. "You were a creature of the night out on All Hallow's Eve reeking havoc in Sunnydale."

"Oh, that." Spike said. "Well, that was a lot of fun." He paused and then looked at Buffy. "Do you still have that little get up?"

Lorne walked into the office talking on his cell phone. "Ah, perfetto, Benigni! Perfetto…. Ah, si, si, si. Grande. Ciao." He hung up. "What did I miss?"

"Us. Waiting." Buffy said.

"Oh, right. Sorry. So, uh, Buffy, we just wanted to take a moment and emphasize how important this party really is to us."

"I gotta say Lorne is right. We gotta show all the big bads that the new regime is here to stay, which, for the most part, boils down to image. And image-wise, if this party doesn't kick ass, we lose face." Gunn said.

"And believe me, milk dud, speaking as the head of your P.R. Department, we need all the face we can get."

"Milk dud?" Buffy asked.

"Said with affection."

"Ok, listen, I understand the whole 'keeping up appearances' concept, but everyone coming to this thing is unabashed, diehard evil."

"Buffy, a good host just doesn't make these sorts of judgments."

"We don't know how many of them are holding grudges against us or against each other."

"She's right." Angel said. "It's a perfect recipe for an out-of-control bloodbath."

Lorne rolled his eyes. "That's describing every good party I've ever been to. Listen, cupcake, don't worry about a thing. This is my forte. I ran Caritas for years, a nightclub with an open-door policy. The good, the bad, the hideously ugly, they all bellied up to my demon bar, but they all played nicely together while they were there."

"And this is exactly the kind of ethical tightrope you've gotta walk now, Buffy." Eve said. "Which brings up another point: your employees."

"Also evil." Buffy said.

Harmony walked in with a mug and set it on Buffy's desk. "Here's your coffee, bossy. Ahem. Boss."

"Some of them, yes, but all of them work hard for this firm, and Halloween, well, around here it's like Christmas. Simply put, this is a morale thing."

Harmony scoffed. "Good luck. The morale around here stinks."

"What?" Buffy asked.

"Uh-huh. Everybody thinks you suck. Well, come on, Buffy. They're all out there, sweating through their matsudas, worried if you're gonna axe them or, you know, axe them."

"Ok, look, I haven't…. Ok, I may have…. killed a couple of them."

"And several clients…. and maybe some potential clients…." Lorne said. "Why do you think my R.S.V.P. list is only a fifth of the size of last year's?"

"It's you, babe." Eve said.

"Come on, what, do they think I'm throwing this thing so I can slaughter them?" Buffy asked. Everyone in the room looked straight at Buffy, except Angel and Connor who both thought it was a good idea. "Fine." Buffy threw up her hands. "I surrender. Go ahead, Lorne. Put on your best show. I won't get in the way."

"I don't want you to sit back and just let it happen, Buffy." Lorne said. "I need you to get out there and make it happen."

"What does that mean?"

* * *

Buffy found herself riding in a limo at night with Lorne sitting next to her fixing himself a drink. "Archduke Sebassis." He said. "Bona fide nobility from the fiery down under. Commands over 40 legions. He's the living end of a pure bloodline of demonic royalty."

"Great. Just great." Buffy said.

"Well, also, the very peak of the A-list mountain. He's the crown jewel of the underworld jet set. If we convince him to come, all the other glitterati will just domino in right behind him, and then…. then we'll be in business."

"This really matters to you, doesn't it?"

"Well, of course. The new Wolfram & Hart? I mean, we have to…."

"No. I mean, this really matters to you. Personally."

"Yeah. You know, Sunshine, I…. I don't have superhuman strength, and I'm not a fighter. Quantum physics makes me nauseous, and I barely made a passing grade at mystical studies, but I'm on your team. This is something I can do. I believe it has a purpose that can help you, even if you don't."

"Well, I'm here, aren't I? I agreed to this."

"No, you…. you did. You did. And I promise you won't regret it. But, hey, let's leave it that you let me do most of the talking, huh? You just kind of smile and try not to rip anybody apart. Ok?"

* * *

**  
**Buffy and Lorne were seated in chairs facing a pale demon with horns seated on a high throne. Another similar demon stood at his side.

"So…. this is the mighty Slayer." Sebassis said. "I've been told many things about you. Bit of a restless frog, hmm? Making lots of waves in your little swamp."

"Yeah? I guess I'm just trying to keep the fly population down." Buffy said.

"Your contempt is fragrant." Sebassis sipped blue liquid from a wine glass and finished the drink. He put his glass down and a smaller, thinner, paler demon walked out to him. The smaller slave-like demon pulled a cork out of his arm and held his arm out over Sebassis's glass. The blue liquid Sebassis was drinking flowed from the slave's uncorked vein into the glass.

"Uh, so, your lordship," Lorne said. "We were deeply grieved when you declined our invitation. I mean, we'd love for you to reconsider." He slapped Buffy's arm.

"Yeah?" Buffy said. "Oh! Yeah. I mean, a party just isn't a party without the archduke."

"You're sure you wouldn't like some?" Sebassis tapped the slave, who re-corked his vein.

"I'm fine." Lorne glared at Buffy. "But thanks."

"Oh, come, come."

Lorne chuckled and sipped from a glass filled with the blue liquid. "Mmm. Wow, this is…. You, uh…. you really…. you taste great." He said to the slave.

"Well…. in light of this amusing chat, and of my longstanding acquaintance with you, Lorne, I will come to the gala."

"Oh, that's wonderful news, your lordship! Well, we don't wanna waste any more of your valuable time. We'll…. we'll show ourselves out." Lorne dragged Buffy from the room.

* * *

Buffy sulked in her office and stared out at the city. She felt like she should be out there killing vampires instead of standing in a gorgeous, blood-red satin dress designed by Max Azaria. She had to admit, she looked damn good. The dress was cut to fit her perfectly. It had tiny spaghetti straps and it clung to her body. It was mid-calf length and looked very 1940s vintage. She looked at her reflection and admired the fingerwaves in her blonde hair and perfect, dramatic makeup. Lorne had set up a day of beauty for her so she could look this good. It didn't make her want to go to the party, though.

"Wow." Angel said behind her. Buffy turned to look at him. "You look…."

"Ridiculous." Buffy said.

"No! You… You look…. I don't even think there's a word good enough to describe how gorgeous you look."

Buffy blushed. "Thank you."

"I need to go talk to Xander."

"Why?"

"Someone's got to keep those men out there away from you." Buffy laughed. "You think I'm joking? Uh-uh." Angel shook his head. "No way am I letting anyone out there steal you away from me while I'm…. out of commission." He paused. "On second thought, I'm going to go talk to Connor." He spun and walked through the wall into the party.

Just then, Lorne walked into Buffy's office through her doorway. "Buffy! It's a graveyard out there, and all the guests wanna meet the new gal in charge." He stopped short, finally noticing the work of the beauty team he had sent over to Buffy. "Wow!"

"Look, Lorne, I…. I…. I have things. I'm busy. I'm…. brooding."

"You look stunning and you want to hide in the dark? Get out there! I can't steer this ship of fools by my lonesome! I just can't do it! I…." Lorne groaned and rubbed his temples in pain as his frustration escalated.

"Lorne?"

Lorne looked up, all smiles again. "Let's boogie, sweet tart." He grabbed her hand and pulled her towards the door.

"My shoes!" Lorne let her go grab the black, peep-toe shoes and slip them on before he grabbed her and pulled out the door.

He slipped her hand into the crook of his arm and took her around the room. "Well, so over there we have the Britzai representatives. We can get to them later. Oh, and there's the elder of the Fell Brotherhood. Come on, let's go say hi!" Buffy rolled her eyes as she went with Lorne. Harmony was still on the dance floor, although others were dancing now too. She noticed Spike standing around nearby.

"Come on, Spikey. Come dance with me."

"You have got to be kidding." Spike said.

"Oh, come on!"

"Listen, chippie, you can gyrate all you like. I'll go to hell before these shoes touch that dance floor."

"Ohh, blondie bear, where is your Halloween spirit?"

"Dearly departed. All this claptrap for a bit of dusty old Druid nonsense. The whole silly lot of you can get hung if you ask me."

"What are you even doing here, then?"

"What am I doing here?" Spike started to walk off, but ran into Buffy and Lorne.

"Yeah, Spike. I thought you hated these kind of things." Buffy said.

"Well I…. Wow!" Spike shook his head and looked at her from head to toe. "I…. Wow! You look…. Wow!"

"Thank you." Buffy smiled, blushing profusely.

Connor walked up and blocked Spike's view of Buffy. "Ok, nothing to see. Move it along, Spike."

"What are you…. Oh. Your father talked to you, didn't he?"

Connor nodded. "I'm supposed to keep the guys off you."

"She's a dish, isn't she?" Lorne said. "And she's doing great. She's already not killed, like, 100 guests."

"She doesn't have to. Party's already dead." Spike said.

"Oh, really, Spike, would it kill you to be a little more positive? Hmm?"

"The Archduke Sebassis!" A deep voice called out. Sebassis walked in, and people gathered around him, kneeling and kissing his hands and feet.

"Mmm. Ok, sexy. You're on, and please, for me, can you try to be nice to him? Just this one time, huh?" Connor followed Buffy and Lorne over to the Archduke.

"Yes. Fine. Sycophants, worms. Don't writhe all at once. It's sickening." Sebassis said.

Buffy had a huge smile plastered on her face as she walked up to him. "Archduke Sebassis!" Sebassis held out his hand to be kissed, and Buffy shook it instead. "Thank you so much for coming."

"Artode, welcome." Lorne said. "Welcome. Love the jacket, by the way."

"It's Pylean." Artode, the man that accompanied Sebassis, said.

"Oh, made in Pylea. Ha. My home dimension."

"Not made in, made from. I skinned it myself. Anybody you know?"

"Well, great. Thanks for dropping by. Ha ha."

"And you look just…. well, I don't have to tell you how awesome you look." Buffy said, still smiling. "You know how awesome you look. He knows how awesome he looks, right?"

"Buffy, hey. We don't wanna be greedy with his eminence. Thank you, your lordship."

"Thank you." Sebassis said.

"Absolutely." Buffy said. "Really. Thrilled to have you here."

Lorne pulled Buffy away from Sebassis. "Okey-dokey! Ok, that'll do it. Thank you. Come on."

Buffy shook her head and walked over to stand in a dark corner. She shooed Connor away by telling him to get some punch. Angel popped in next to her. "What was that?" He asked.

"I have no clue!" Buffy said. At that moment, Fred, Wesley, and Dawn stumbled by.

"Yeah, for 8 years straight, I went out dressed as Raggedy Ann." Fred snorted out a gurgle of laughter and Dawn joined her.

"I had Buffy's handmedowns!" Dawn slurred. "I never wanted to be Riding Red Hoop…. Hoop Ren Reding…. Ridy…." She almost fell over with her drunken laughter.

"Sounds like fun, I suppose." Wesley said. "We never really celebrated Halloween in England."

"Oh. That's so sad." Fred said. She spotted the buffet. "Look, potstickers!"

Buffy grabbed Dawn and hauled her over to the corner. "Are you drunk!?"

Dawn looked down at herself and then back at Buffy. "I'm fully dressed, thank you!" She started to laugh.

"Watch your step, guys." Harmony called out. "Somebody peed all over there."

"Well, that's just…. huh. Just wrong." Dawn slurred.

"Revolting." Wesley said, swaying drunkenly.

"You let my little sister drink?!" Buffy asked Wesley.

"Um…." He wandered away before Buffy could deck him.

"Dawn, you go home." She waved Connor over. "Connor, take Dawn home, please. She's out of her mind drunk!"

"Sure thing." Connor said.

"I dun wanna go home." Dawn said.

"Tough. You're going."

"Come on, Dawn." Connor took Dawn's upper arm and dragged her towards the door.

Eve walked up to Buffy. "I have to say, I'm impressed. I saw you with Sebassis. I honestly didn't know you had it in you."

"Yeah, well, it was an act. I think." Buffy said.

"I picked up on that from 100 yards away. Yep. You were bangin' it out to the cheap seats."

"Funny. I was gonna say the same thing about that dress." Eve scoffed for a second and then stormed off. Buffy smirked victoriously and looked up at Angel. "This party…. Let's get the hell out of here."

"Works for me." Angel said.

Buffy led the way into her office and shut the door behind her. She fogged over the windows so no one could see in. Angel was sitting on the couch in the dark. Buffy smiled and walked over. She slipped off her shoes and sat down next to him. "So…."

Angel smiled. "So…."


	65. Chapter 65

Chapter 65

Buffy and Angel were into a deep conversation when Wesley, Xander, Fred, Gunn and Spike pulled Lorne into Buffy's office. "Come on, guys. I'm telling you I did not do anything." Lorne said.

"What's going on?" Buffy asked.

"Hey, you look so relaxed!" Spike said to Buffy with a huge grin. "What's your secret? You look amazing."

"What's wrong with you?"

"He must be under the effect of Lorne presume…. presumally…." Wesley slurred.

"Prezoomally." Fred said, snorting out more laughter.

"Lorne's doing it…. something to us."

"I am not." Lorne insisted.

"Everything he's told us to do, we're doing. Spike's thinking positive, Xander is eating all the food up…."

"I no longer feel so good, but I'm still hungry." Xander said.

"And Gunn is peeing all over the office."

"And we're a little bit drunk." Fred said.

"Yes. And Dawn was too. But not because we drank, because Lorne told us to be drunk."

"Lorne told you to pee all over the office?" Angel asked Gunn.

"Lord, I hope so." Gunn said.

Buffy glared at Lorne. "You told my underage sister to be drunk!?"

"This is crazy. I am not doing this." Lorne insisted again. "I would know if I was doing this. I don't even know what this is."

"You know, I really love your desk." Spike said to Buffy.

"I don't get it. I thought Lorne was just an empath demon." Buffy said.

"Territory!" Gunn cried. "Wait. This morning, Lorne told me to stake out my territory."

"Right." Wesley said. "Territorial marking, taken a little too literally."

"Hey, I did not tell Gunn to go water the ferns. I did not do anything." Lorne said.

"You had your sleep removed." Gunn said.

"What?" Angel asked.

"Yeah. He hasn't slept in a month."

"Oh, dear." Wesley said. "An empath demon deprived of sleep for that long?"

"What does that have to do with it?" Lorne asked.

"Something, apparently." Fred said.

"Lorne, why would you let them do that to you?" Buffy asked.

"I had to do something, didn't I?" Lorne said. "I mean, you don't know what I've had to deal with. I'm the center of gravity in a town that's full of borderline disorder celebrities and powerbrokers. All the hand-holding and the ego-stroking and the 4 A.M. Jacuzzi strategy sessions?" Wesley caught Gunn peeing in the corner. "I just couldn't keep up with it, even without sleeping."

"Why didn't you tell me? Why didn't you tell us? I would have…."

"What? Fired me?"

"I would've helped you, which is what I'm gonna do now, ok?"

"Well, I…. Ok."

Buffy started to stand, but found the dress was hard to maneuver in. Spike walked over and helped her to her feet. "Seriously, you look amazing. Are you working out? What's your regime?"

"Spike, shut up." Buffy said. "Wes, Fred, go find Lorne's sleep and figure out a way to put it back in his head."

"Yes, sir." Wesley said.

"She's a ma'am." Fred said.

"Ma'am."

"Done and doner." Wesley picked Fred up by the waist as he walked out the door with her.

"Lorne, you just stay tight and try not to, you know, talk."

"Buffy, we still got a party going on." Lorne said. "Someone has to make sure there's ice in the drinks."

"Ooh, ooh!" Spike raised his hand and jumped up and down. "Me! Me! I'm your people person."

"Gunn, go on the floor, see if anyone else is under the Lorne effect." Buffy said.

"Check." Gunn said.

"And stop with the…."

"Do my best."

"Xander…. Go with him, please."

"Righty-o." Xander said.

"And no more to eat. You'll make yourself sick…. Er."

"Brilliant plan. Excellent." Spike said.

"Shut up!" Buffy and Angel said to Spike.

Just then, Sebassis and his gang burst through Buffy's office door carrying their weapons which resembled crossbows. Spike applauded them. "What a fantastic entrance!"

"Sebassis?" Buffy asked.

"The nerve, the raw nerve to lay a hand on one of mine!" Sebassis said.

"What is this? Lower your weapons."

"These darts are poisoned, Slayer. Powerful enough to put you in a coma for a week. Enough to kill any one of them before their next heartbeat. You murdered Artode. I imagine we were to be next."

"I didn't murder anyone."

"Stand up! You have a public execution to attend."

"Big mistake." Angel said. A woman screamed from the lobby.

"Move!"

The crowd cleared from the dance floor as the woman's screams turned into horrified moans. Sebassis and his entourage lead Buffy, Angel, Lorne, and Spike out into the lobby to investigate, where they found Devlin the 'Human Bean' demon lying on the buffet table, either unconscious or dead.

"Oh, boy." Lorne said.

"Yeah. Somebody really dipped his chip." Harmony said.

"That's just tasteless, Harm." Buffy said. Sebassis pointed his poisoned arrow at Lorne, then Buffy. "Ok, Sebassis, I don't know what's going on here, but we are not behind it."

"Enough lies, Slayer." Sebassis said.

"Ok, everybody, ok." Lorne interjected. "Yes, the party's taking an unfortunate turn momentarily. So let's not…." Sebassis cocked the weapon. "Fight. Wait! Please, wait. I'm doing this. It's me. I mean, it's not me. But I haven't been myself lately. Somehow, I'm making people do things and I'm controlling them" Sebassis pointed the weapon at Lorne. "Whoa."

"Well, then, Pylean, you're making me kill you. Is that consistent with your theory?"

Just then, a roar could be heard from the staircase that overlooked the lobby. A giant green creature dressed in a blue suit and purple shirt just like Lorne's jumped down from the balcony, landing right in front of Sebassis. The creature looked like a thick-necked, muscle-man version of Lorne. It growled menacingly at them.

"Oh, my God!" Harmony cried.

"It's me." Lorne said, stunned.

Spike smiled in admiration. "That's one bitchin' big suit."

Hulking Lorne smacked one of Sebassis's demons, knocking him down. Sebassis fired a poisoned dart into the massive creature, but to no effect. Sebassis's slave unhooked his leash from Sebassis's belt and snuck away while the fight went on.

"Lorne, what the hell is this?" Buffy asked.

"Stop it! Stop killing!" Lorne cried. "Listen to me….. Me!" The hulking Lorne smacked Lorne, knocking him down. "Wow, I must really hate myself."

"Sebassis, run." Buffy ordered.

Sebassis scurried off behind a pole so he could watch the goings on. Hulking Lorne smacked Buffy, sending her across the room. Gunn tried to hit hulking Lorne over the head with a statue, but to no avail. Hulking Lorne shoved Gunn across the room, where he landed next to Lorne.

"Ohh! Oh, sorry about that." Lorne said.

Sebassis tried to crawl away up the stairs, but hulking Lorne went after him. Buffy picked herself up and attacked hulking Lorne, punching him repeatedly, but not really hurting him. The lobby elevator doors opened, and Wesley and Fred were inside but facing the wrong way. They turned around and walked into the lobby. Fred was carrying a gun-shaped device.

"It's here! It's manifested!" Wesley said.

"Buffy!" Fred called. Hulking Lorne was beating Buffy. Fred and Wesley walked up behind Lorne who was watching the fight with horror. Fred pointed the gun up in front of her.

"Shoot it, Fred. Now!" Angel said. "Before Big Lorne kills her!"

Fred turned and pointed the gun at Lorne's head as he watched the fight. She pulled the trigger and he collapsed to the ground. "Oh, my God! They shot Lorney-tunes." Harmony said.

"No. I'm ok. Just gonna rest my eyes a little bit." Hulking Lorne stood over Buffy, reared back, ready to pummel her, when he disappeared in a puff of blue smoke. The only noise that could be heard was Lorne snoring.

The elevator doors dinged and Connor walked out, stopping dead when he saw the destruction. "What'd I miss?"

* * *

Wesley and Buffy tucked Lorne in under a blanket on Buffy's couch. Spike was sitting on Buffy's desk next to Angel, who was leaning against the desk.

"That thing…." Wesley said. "I think it was a manifestation of Lorne's subconscious. It peeled away from his mind, using Lorne's supernatural powers to punch its way into our world."

"_Punch_ is the right word." Buffy said, rubbing her ribs. "Why was it trying to kill everyone?"

"I don't think it was. It may have just been processing the conflicts that Lorne normally deals with in his sleep, acting out on the emotional responses he has to the people around him."

"I guess Lorne makes some judgments after all." Angel said. He looked at Buffy. "How you doing?"

"I don't know."

Gunn walked in. "Hey, I spoke with Sebassis' people. Explained what I could."

"So what do we got? Lawsuit? Demon war?"

"No. It seems like they enjoy a little blood sport at their social functions. Looks like we're ok."

"We're not ok. We've been so focused on the dangers outside that we didn't see the ones inside. This place is trying to change us, Gunn. We can't ever forget that."

"Pretty damn good party, though. I'll see you tomorrow…. Well, today, but later. Oh, and your chair."

"What?"

"Don't sit in it. I already called janitorial."

"Why can't I…."

"You pissed in the big lady's chair?" Spike laughed. "That's fantastic!"

"Spike, can you please turn off that warm fuzzy?" Buffy snapped.

"What, the Lorne thing? Wore off. I just think that's bloody fabulous."

"All right, guys, good night. Let Lorne get some sleep, all right? Out."

"All right. Just this once."

"Mmm. I'm sorry." Lorne muttered.

"Hey, it's ok, Lorne. Just try and get some rest. Get some sleep."

"It's…. it's hard. It's hard being the host of the party. Yeah."

"Stop trying to be." Buffy kissed Lorne's forehead and headed towards her elevator. Angel followed her in. She leaned over and took her shoes off, holding them in her hand. "I need to get out of this dress."

"Why? You look amazing." He looked at her backside. "And you didn't even rip it in that fight."

"Seriously?" Buffy turned and tried to see the reflection of her backside in the elevator doors.

"That…. And I just wanted to check out your ass."

Buffy laughed. "Oh no! I always get the horny ghosts!"

Angel chuckled. "You live a doomed, horny-ghost life, Buffy Summers."


	66. Chapter 66

Chapter 66

Wesley stood in front of Buffy's desk, staring solemnly into the distance. He had taken Fred on a dangerous mission and she had gotten hurt…. Badly. So bad, she could've died. Buffy had been the one to come in and rescue Fred. She had been told by Xander that Wesley had gone out with Fred with a load of weaponry and he was worried that something was fishy about it. Now, Buffy paced behind her desk. Angel stood in the corner behind the desk. Eve sat on front of Buffy's desk.

"She could have been killed." Buffy said.

"Medical's optimistic." Eve said. "She should be up and about soon enough."

"That's not the point. What the hell was Fred doing there in the first place?"

"I needed someone who could explain the weapon convincingly." Wesley said.

"Nobody else here knows how to explain a gun?"

"I needed someone who wouldn't arouse Emil's suspicion. Someone I could trust."

"And so conveniently, the only person who could go with you was Fred."

"What is that?"

"She shouldn't have been there. It was a reckless decision."

"Fred has more than proven herself in the field. There was no reason to think…."

"We found her bleeding to death on the ground." Buffy shook her head and glared at Wesley. "From now on, you clear it with me before using any of my people."

"Your people?"

"Got it?" Wesley nodded, turned, and left.

"Kinda hard on him, weren't you?" Eve asked.

"She could have…."

"Been killed. So you said. I think you're making too big a deal about this. And from what I understand, her wound wasn't all that severe."

"You weren't there. You didn't see her."

"But she's ok. And you're still beating him up."

"He can be careless."

"Focuses too much on the big picture? Overlooks the people involved?"

"Something like that."

"Willing to risk anything…. or anyone…. for the greater good." Buffy glared at Eve. "Look, hey…. I'm just asking. Could it be there's another reason you're getting so mad at him about this?"

"I think you're done."

"Mmm…. Stealing the boy you see as your son, for instance?"

"We don't talk about our son." Angel said.

Eve ignored Angel and kept looking at Buffy. "You don't trust Wesley, do you? I mean, I can see that. He did turn Connor over to…."

"He didn't mean for that to happen. He thought he was doing the right thing." Buffy said.

"And I guess it all worked out. Connor's ok. He's happy. Maybe Wesley knew what he was doing after all."

"That's got nothing to do with…." Buffy sighed. "I just want to be kept informed. That's all."

"Is it? Or are you worried about the next time Wesley betrays someone…. Someone, say, like you…. trying to do 'the right thing'?"

"Eve, I believe your boss said you were done here." Angel said.

Eve stood and walked to the door. "She's not my boss." She left, shutting the door behind her.

"You ok?" Angel asked Buffy.

"I don't like her." Buffy said, sitting down.

"What about your tirade with Wesley?"

"What about it? He was reckless, he was…."

"What was up with it?" Buffy looked at Angel. "Was it really about Connor?"

Buffy tossed down the pen she had been fiddling with. "Part of it."

"What was the other part?"

"He… worries me."

"Why?"

"When you were Angelus and…. While I was with Wesley searching for you…. I've never…."

"What?"

"He stabbed a girl and tortured her to get her to tell us about Angelus." Buffy shook her head. "I'm worried that his judgment calls are too…. Too…."

"Daunting?"

"Exactly. Every time he makes a big decision…. That's why I'm the boss. I know what I'm doing. I know how to make the decisions."

"It's ok, Buffy. You're doing a good job."

"I don't feel like I am. I always feel like I'm taking five steps backwards with every move I make here!"

"It's going to feel like that. But you're doing a good job. You really are. Your Slayers are thriving and…."

"But I'm not getting anywhere here! I can't see a way to bring this place down. No matter how hard I look…. And really, every time I start to look, more work comes my way. I can't ever get time to START bringing this place down."

"I could start searching for a way for you."

Buffy looked at him. "How?"

"Hey, I'm a ghost. I can walk into places without anyone stopping me."

"Would you really do that?"

Angel smiled. "Of course I would. We'll bring this place to its knees together."

"If I could kiss you right now, you'd be on the floor."

He smirked sexily. "Oh, really?"

* * *

Buffy stood over the opened corpse of the cyborg ninja that had attacked Fred and Wesley the night before while Fred explained what she'd found. "We found cybernetics throughout the body, in most cases replacing entire organic systems."

"Was it human?" Buffy asked.

"We think so. The nervous system seems human at least, but the rest of the technology is so foreign to us. We can't be sure of anything right now. This thing really blurs the line between human and robot."

"Aha!" Spike said, standing nearby. "So you're not ruling out that a human being could've boffed a robot. Sex with robots is more common than most people think."

Buffy glared at Spike. "That was seriously the most disgusting thing you have ever done."

He smirked at her. "It was a good likeness, but not even a third as good as the real thing."

"Of course not. I…." Buffy cut off when she noticed everyone staring at her and Spike.

"Um, the…. The, uh, cybernetics require central processing to function, which means if we can crack its memory, we may find a record of everything it's done till this point."

"And maybe figure out who or what it wanted."

"Um, so far, we haven't had much luck decoding the encryption."

"It seems to be a binary-based system, so we'll get there eventually." Knox said. "We just have to find the right transform variable."

"Ok, I need you on this till we get some answers. Cool?"

"You got it." Fred said.

"Let us know if you need more resources." Eve said.

Wesley walked into the lab with an older man. "Everyone, I'd like you to meet my father, Roger Wyndam-Price."

"Hello." Roger said.

"Daddy, eh?" Spike said. "I always thought Wesley was grown in some sort of greenhouse for dandies."

"Spike."

"You've heard of me?"

"No. We've met. 1963. My colleagues and I fell upon you slaughtering an orphanage in Vienna. Killed 2 of my men before you escaped."

"Oh…. how've you been?"

"I didn't know your father was coming to visit, Wesley." Buffy said. "I'm Buffy. Pleasure to meet you. I realize this may be somewhat of a horror show to you. But I hope you can keep an open mind. We really are doing good work here."

"So I'm told. Incessantly, in fact." Roger said. "So, you're the Slayer who's changed the lineage."

"That would be me, yes."

"What an outrage it was."

"Excuse me?"

"For generations…. Millennia even…. There has only been one Slayer to fight the forces of darkness. One. Now look. There are Slayers everywhere and who knows what will happen to the potential Slayers born into the future."

"Well, that last part is still a kink we're working out, but one would think that the more Slayers there are, the safer this world will be. Did you honestly think anything was getting done with just one Slayer until I came along?"

"You're a disgrace to all that a Slayer is. You have friends. You have a family. A Slayer is supposed to work with her Watcher alone."

"And look at where they all ended up."

"Dead. Like they were meant to."

"Dead at an early age. They never got to truly live and love. I have."

"Yes. Angelus and Spike. We've all heard. It is truly disgusting for a Slayer to have romantic relations with vampires."

"Wasn't so disgusting from my end." Spike said.

"Not helping." Buffy snapped. She turned back to Roger. "I truly don't care. Angel and Spike have both helped me save this world time and time again while you sat in England sipping your tea. They're both heroes because they stood up and gave a damn, which is more than I can say for you."

Wesley cleared his throat. "I heard we could be of some use."

"Oh…. Uh, of course." Fred said. "Um, we were just going over the autopsy."

"Fred, keep me posted." Buffy turned and stormed out.

* * *

Buffy was sitting behind her desk looking at Fred and Wesley. "What happened?"

Spike stepped up in front of Fred and Wesley. "I can explain. Apparently, when Percy here was younger, he used to be known as 'head boy.'"

"Yeah. I already knew that."

"Right. I have nothing else to report."

"I accidentally tripped the cyborg's self-destruct mechanism." Wesley said.

"Anyone could have made the mistake. Wesley was just trying to interpret some symbols for us." Fred said.

"Luckily, my father was there to correct my error."

"Right. Your father." Buffy said. "Where is he, anyway?"

"Well, Lorne's keeping him entertained." Fred said. She paused. "Come to think of it, that's probably not the best idea. I'll go rescue him." She got up and left.

"I'm finished here, too." Spike said. "If you want, I can have someone type up the report about head boy."

"Get out."

"Suit yourself, ducks." Spike left.

"It was a stupid mistake." Wesley said.

"Yeah, well, your father's visit just rattled you." Buffy said.

"I find it hard to think straight when he's around."

"Look, you should see this. Came from your department. Reports of assassins that sound a lot like our cyborg." Buffy handed Wesley a folder.

"Hmm. Group of them took out a demon cabal in Jakarta. Another group destroyed the Tanmar Death Chamber. Sounds like they're doing our work for us."

"These are good guys?"

"I don't know. I should reference this with the markings we found, find some clues as to their origin."

"Get on it. If these guys are on our side, then somebody should tell them before they start trying to kill us again."

Wesley nodded and left. A minute later, Angel walked through the door. "What did I miss? Harmony said you got into a fight with Wesley's father and then Wesley accidentally tried to blow this place up."

Buffy nodded. "He accidentally tripped a self-destruct thing in that robot man. And his father…. Well, he's an arrogant prick who doesn't know a damn thing about taking on the forces of darkness."

Angel sat down in one of the chairs in front of Buffy's desk. "What happened?"

"He called me a disgrace to the Slayer heritage or whatever. He said that making all those Slayers ruined the Slayer line and now it may never be repaired."

"Oh, that's bull. Potential Slayers will be potentials when they're born. You just made all the potentials that were alive at that time Slayers."

"I know. I've already called Giles and asked him."

"And?"

"And what?"

"He said something else that bugged you. I can tell."

"I know it's always been wrong that I've loved you. I mean, you vampire, me Slayer. But…."

"He said it was wrong that you love me?"

"Yes. And Spike."

"You don't love Spike."

"Not like I love you, but I do love him." Buffy saw the look of hurt pass across Angel's face. "Oh, stop. You knew I did. He was there and he listened and he cared about me."

"Till he tried to rape you."

"He didn't know what he was doing. And I don't know why we're discussing this. I've already told you that you're the one I want. Not Spike."

"I know. I can't help being jealous, though. Especially when he can touch you and I can't."

"Angel…." Buffy was cut off by Connor storming into her office and slamming the door. He huffed and threw himself down in the second chair in front of Buffy's desk. "Connor?"

"I hate that man." Connor said.

"Who?" Angel asked.

"Wesley's dad. He's…. I hate that man."

"What did he do now?" Buffy asked.

"He called me an abomination! He actually had the nerve to tell me I should've died in my mother's womb."

"That's it!" Buffy stood up and marched to her door. "I've had it with this guy."

"What are you gonna do?" Angel asked.

"I'm going to give him a piece of my mind."


	67. Chapter 67

Chapter 67

Buffy walked into her office and looked at Angel and Connor sitting on the couch. "Well?" Angel asked.

"I couldn't find him." Buffy said. "Xander sent security to find him, but they didn't. I think he left."

"Good riddance." Connor grumbled. "That guy's the abomination."

"You're not an abomination, Connor."

"I know. That guy is."

"Yeah."

"Dad told me what he said to you. Don't listen to him, Buffy. You're the best Slayer out there. He's just jealous cause his Slayer didn't live that long."

"How do you know that?"

"Dad told me."

"I did some snooping." Angel said with a smile. "Turns out he was a Watcher to a Slayer who only lived a few months."

"And she didn't die in battle. She got some disease that killed her in her bed."

"Seriously?" Buffy asked.

"Yeah. He was the laughing stock of the Council for a while."

"How did you find all of that out?"

Angel smiled broadly. "I called Giles."

"You had Connor dial the numbers?"

"No. I dialed them. I'm getting better at it."

"I dialed four of the numbers." Connor said.

"Big mouth." Angel shot at his son. "I was trying to make myself look good."

"You've got a long way to go." Angel concentrated for a minute and then punched Connor's arm playfully. "Ow!"

Suddenly the power shut down and then the alarm started blaring throughout the building. Buffy looked around as Connor and Angel jumped up. The three of them ran out of the office to investigate.

"What's happening?" Buffy asked.

"We've lost power, communications…." Gunn said.

"All right, can somebody please shut off the…." The alarm stopped. "That's better."

"Not sure it is. I think that means we lost security, too."

"Where's Xander? Get him online. I need to know if this is a false alarm."

The cyborgs came into the lobby, punching out one of the men. More cyborgs jumped down behind Buffy, Connor, Angel, and Gunn.

"I'm thinking it's not a false alarm." Connor said.

Buffy, Connor, and Gunn started going to work on the cyborgs in the lobby. Gunn knocked one out, but another engaged him in a fight. The cyborg punched Gunn in the stomach, then threw his chain around Gunn's neck, slinging him into the stairs. Buffy and Connor both saw Gunn being beaten, but they both had their own cyborgs to fight off before either of them could go to his aid.

Buffy's cyborg kicked her across the room. Connor's cyborg grabbed his ankle and spun him into the wall. Angel looked around the lobby and noticed Gunn's situation. "Gunn!"

"Angel…. what are you…."

Angel stood in front of Gunn, holding his fist out, ready to punch, but also holding his other hand up in a 'stop' motion while he concentrated. "Sorry. I have to concentrate." Gunn let out a choked sound. Angel finally threw his punch, connecting with the cyborg's head, knocking it back so that it loosened its grip on Gunn's neck. Angel smiled triumphantly at his accomplishment, but Gunn just stared at him.

Buffy laid on her back and kicked her feet up, kicking the cyborg in the chin and sending him flying. She continued her backwards motion and rolled up into a handstand and then set one leg down after the other, coming up to a standing a position like a professional gymnast. Angel called Buffy's name and she turned just in time for a cyborg to kick her in the stomach. Wesley's father knocked the cyborg in the head with a chair, knocking it away from Buffy.

"Thanks." Buffy said.

"Buffy!" Fred yelled. "Wesley's on the roof. He needs your help."

Buffy looked around and saw that the cyborgs had all been taken out. "Hey, Gunn, go find Xander and find out what's happening with security. Fred, Connor, there are people down. Go see who's injured. I'll go find Wes."

"I'm coming with you." Roger said.

"Look, I don't have time…."

"He's my son."

"Whatever." Buffy ran up the stairs out onto the roof, followed by Wesley's father. "Wesley! Wes! Where's Wesley?" No one was on the roof but Buffy and Roger.

"Well, that's just the thing. I'm sorry to have misled you, but this was never about Wesley." He held out a wand and pointed it at Buffy. "Atistrata." Buffy collapsed, clutching her stomach and grunting. "It is, by the way, a pleasure to meet you, too." A white smoke flowed out of Buffy's body and into the wand, making the tip glow white. "Don't fight it. It'll be easier for you." Roger pushed something inside his ear. "Ready for extraction. We're finished."

Suddenly, Wesley was there. He took the staff out of his father's hands. "Not quite." He pointed a gun at his father. "Hello, father."

Roger pulled a gun on Wesley. "Walk away from this, Wesley. You'll never understand what we're trying to do here."

"You're using the Staff of Devosynn to take Buffy's will, make her your slave. Your cyborgs panic a bit too easily."

"That girl is more dangerous to mankind than you realize."

"You're wrong about her."

"She's a puppet. She always has been. To the Powers That Be, to Wolfram & Hart. Now she's ours."

"You went to a lot of trouble to get this staff. You had us attacked, you smuggled in a weapon, you brought in an army so you could escape. I don't know why you're doing all this, but did you ever once consider there might be another way? Did you ever once consider talking to me about it?"

"No. You've failed me enough for one lifetime."

Fred, Connor, and Angel walked out onto the roof. "Wesley!" Fred yelled.

"Fred…. get out of here!" Wesley called.

"Buffy!" Connor and Angel cried. They ran to Buffy's side as she lay helpless on the ground.

"What the hell is going on?" Angel asked.

"You know what that woman is and what she's done, and you follow her anyway?" Roger said.

"Maybe I know what I'm doing." Wesley said. "Why can't you trust that?"

"You disgrace yourself with the council, you join forces with her, and you have the nerve to ask me why I can't trust you?"

"I've done everything you ever asked, and I've done it well."

"I asked for this, hmm? I wanted to be humiliated?"

"No, I suppose I don't know what you really wanted. You never had any use for me as a child, and you can't bear the thought of me as an adult. Tell me, father, what is it that galls you so, that I was never as good at the job as you…. or that I just might be better?"

"Oh, yes, this is Los Angeles. We have to talk about our feelings. Then maybe we'll hug."

"It's doubtful."

"Hand me that staff."

"No."

"Now, don't make me shoot you."

Wes walked to the edge of the roof. "Go ahead."

"Do you know how powerful that thing is?"

"I don't care."

"I will kill you for it. Please believe me." A helicopter hovered over the roof, shining bright white lights on it.

"Oh, I believe you. I was raised by you, after all." He held the staff over the edge of the roof. "But I drop this, the crystal shatters, and Buffy is restored. So I reckon whether I live or die, your plan has failed."

"I see. Well, then…. maybe if it's someone you care about?" Roger grabbed Fred, pointing a gun at her head.

When his father grabbed Fred, Wesley pointed the gun at his father and shot it without another moment of consideration. He shot his father in the chest until his clip was empty. His father fell to the ground, and the helicopter departed. Wesley walked up to his father's fallen body and stared, upset. Fred looked at him, then at Buffy in Connor's arms with Angel kneeling next to them. Wesley stumbled away, dropping his gun as he went, and bent over behind a roof vent to vomit. Fred looked after him, concerned. When Wesley stood, he heard the buzzing of electronics behind him. He turned to look and saw his father's body fade into the body of a cyborg, shimmering with electricity.

* * *

Wesley walked into Buffy's office to find her sitting on the couch, holding her stomach. She was alone. Connor had gone to get her something to drink and a cool rag and Angel had gone to ask one of the doctors on staff if he could get something for Buffy to ease her headache and nausea.

"How are you doing?" Wesley asked.

"Well, you know that worst part about losing your free will?" Buffy said.

"Having no control over your body?"

"Well, there's that and…. Apparently you get really nauseous."

Wesley sat beside Buffy. "The effect should wear off before too long."

"Any idea where these things came from? What they were trying to do with me?" Wesley shook his head. "Great. Like we don't have enough to worry about. Now the good guys may be after us, too."

"We have to assume we crossed some powerful forces when we took over this company."

"They're all trying to bring us down. The perception is that we're weak."

"No. The perception is I'm weak. That's why they went for me."

"They're wrong. You do what you have to do to protect the people around you. To do what you know is right, no matter what the cost. You know, I never really understood that. You're the guy who makes all the hard decisions, even if you have to make 'em alone."

"Right now I feel like the guy who shot his own father."

"Well, it was just a robot with a fancy glamour."

"That thing knew everything about me."

"You know, if they had access to the Watchers Council's old files, they'd have your background information, character assessments…."

"Psychological profiles. Everything they'd need."

"Well, like I said…. don't beat yourself up. Father's like him…. They're not worth it."

"Yes. I forgot you also have a father who doesn't seem to care too much for either of his daughters."

"Dawn and I turned out fine, though. We had a mother who loved us enough for two people and she raised us right. You should get some rest."

"So should you." Wesley squeezed Buffy's hand and walked out.

A few minutes later, Connor walked in with Angel. "Dad dropped your meds and we had to go get more."

"I didn't drop them. You made me break my concentration." Angel said.

"You two are a comedic duo when you're together." Buffy said.

Connor shrugged. "He's the crazy one. I'm just the one who wants to make sure you're ok."

"I'm ok." She took the cool washcloth from Connor and laid her head back, putting it on her forehead. Connor handed her a glass of water and a little cup with some pills in it.

"The doctor said that would help your headache and nausea and that pain in your stomach." Angel said.

"Good." Buffy took the pills.

"You're gonna be knocked out for a while. You should head on up to your bed."

"That would require movement."

"Not on your part." Connor leaned over and scooped Buffy up into his arms. "I saw that on a movie." He said. Angel followed Connor up to Buffy's room and watched as his son gently put her down on her bed. He lifted the covers up and tucked her in, kissing her forehead. "Feel better, Buffy."

"Thank you." Connor walked out, closing the door behind him.

"I would've done that, you know." Angel said.

"I know."

"I miss being corporeal."

"I know."

"As a ghost…. Or whatever I am… I can touch you, but I can't feel you. I could try to kiss you, but…. I've never been this…. Disconnected before."

"We'll find a way to bring you back, Angel. Fred's still working on it. Wesley says he thinks he's close."

"I don't think I'll ever be solid again."

"You will. It's just going to take some time. And something tells me you have plenty of it."

Angel shook his head. "Get some sleep, Buffy. I'll see you in the morning." He touched her lips and she smiled, kissing them before they went non-corporeal again.


	68. Chapter 68

Chapter 68

Buffy walked down the steps into the lobby, walking briskly toward Harmony's desk, followed by Spike. "Get the hell away from me, Spike." Buffy snapped.

"Why won't you give me what I want?" Spike asked.

"You're not getting an office." Harmony handed Buffy her mail.

"Come on! At least give me Wesley's office. I mean, since he's gone."

"He's not gone. He's on a leave of absence."

Angel appeared next to Buffy. "Hey."

"Hi."

"What's wrong?"

"Boo-hoo." Spike said. "Thought he killed his bloody father. Try staking your mother when she's coming on to you!"

"Well…. that explains a lot." Harmony said. "Angel."

"Yeah?" Angel turned and looked at Harmony.

She held up a package. "You got mail."

"What?" Angel glanced at Buffy and then they both walked up to Harmony's desk.

"It's addressed to you, care of here."

"Who would be sending post to…."

"A ghost? Doesn't say. Kind of heavy. Here." Angel held up his hands.

"I got it." Buffy picked up the box and took it into her office. Angel followed closely behind. "I wonder what it could be."

"No telling. Just…. Be careful." Angel said. Buffy used a letter opener to slice through the packing tape and opened the package. The package released a flash of bright white light.

Buffy looked inside. "There's nothing in here." Buffy's telephone rang. "Buffy Sum…." The phone made an electronic screeching noise and she yanked it away from her ear. "Harmony! There's something wrong with the phone."

Angel walked over to the door to see what was going on. He started to walk through it, but he banged into it and fell to the floor. "What the…."

"Angel!" Buffy hung up the phone and ran over to him.

"That hurt." Buffy helped Angel to stand. "Hey. You grabbed my hand!" He touched his chest. "I can feel." He licked his lip to discover his nose had bled a bit from his run-in with the door. "Mmm! I can…." He suddenly looked at Buffy.

"Whoa! Hey pal. I'll get Harm…." Buffy was silenced when Angel grabbed her and pulled her to him, kissing her passionately. Buffy clung to him tightly returning the kiss hungrily.

Gunn opened the door and walked into Buffy's office. "Hey, what's going…." He stopped dead when he saw Buffy and Angel getting hot and heavy.

Angel broke away and looked at Gunn. "I'm back!"

Gunn looked at Buffy. "He's corporeal? When did this…. I mean, how…."

"I don't know. He just…." Angel kissed her again, cutting her off.

After a long moment, he said, "It must've been that box of flash I got in the mail."

"Mail? From who?" Gunn asked.

"I don't know."

"I don't care!" Buffy said, throwing her arms around Angel's neck and jumping into his arms. There was a loud screeching noise from Harmony's desk and the lights from her computer were flashing crazily. "Harmony, what is going on with the phones?"

Harmony walked out from behind the desk toward the others. "Nobody knows. It's, like, all over the office. And all there is is, eee! on the other end. Plus, now my computer's freaking."

Spike and Connor walked up. "What's going…." Connor started.

"Hey! He's holding her!" Spike said.

"You're…. Dad!" Connor rushed up and wrapped his arms around Buffy and Angel. "You're back!"

Xander walked in just then. "What's happening…. Holy crap!"

"Dad's back!"

"I can see that." Angel set Buffy down, still holding on to her waist, and hugged Xander as he came up to the group. "How'd it happen?"

"I don't know."

"Hey, Buff, what now? It sounds like we've got a security breech."

"Uh…. Kill all of them." Buffy said. "The phones, the computers, shut 'em down. Find out if we've got some kind of bug in the system and who put it there."

"Figure we're under some kind of attack again?" Gunn asked.

"I don't know what to figure yet."

"I'm on it." Xander rushed off.

Fred ran down the stairs to catch up to Buffy, Angel, Connor, Spike, and Gunn. "Buffy…."

"Let me guess." Buffy said. "The lab computers are on the fritz."

"Well, yeah, but that's just the tip of the fritzberg. The needles on our atmospheric gauges suddenly started spiking into red. Totally blew out the instruments."

"Sounds like some kind of electrical surge, like what's affecting our phones and…."

"Well, yeah. That's what I thought at first, but I think it might be something else."

"Never simple, is it?" Angel sat in Buffy's chair and she sat on his lap, leaning back into him.

"Wait! Oh my God! Is he…."

"Corporeal again? Yep." Gunn said.

"Corporeal?"

"Yeah." Buffy said, all smiles. "He got something in the mail. It flashed him and now he's a solid citizen again."

"Oh, my God why didn't you call me?"

"I'm sorry. We just, you know, we've had our hands full…."

"You sure have." Gunn smirked.

Buffy kicked the desk, causing it to move and knock Gunn off it. "Dealing with the glitch in the office system…." She paused, connecting something in her brain. "Which just so happens to coincide with Angel being back, and I can't believe I'm just getting that."

"You think whatever recorporealized Angel is doing a number on the building?" Spike asked.

"Well, obviously they're connected." Fred said. "Maybe when Angel's matter was reintegrated into physical form, it had some sort of ripple effect on the immediate environment."

"Whatever it was, it had to have had a lot of power." Angel said.

"I have a question." Buffy said. "Did it restore Angel to what he was before he died or did it create a whole new body?"

"What do you mean?" Fred asked.

"Well, the loophole…. Before it was happiness equals Angelus because of the curse."

"Yeah…."

"But now…. A ghost is simply a wandering soul. Angel was a vampire ghost, so essentially he had no body to return to because it was dust. So, he was all soul…. Not to sound like Lorne. So, did it create a body from his soul?"

"What are you getting at?" Spike asked.

"Oh, I know what you mean. Is the soul part of the body making it anchored to me and not affected by the gypsy curse anymore." Angel said.

"Exactly." Buffy said. "How would we find that out?"

"Only one way I can think of." Gunn said.

"No. We're not risking that again." Angel said.

"Besides," Buffy added. "Maybe the senior partners sent that box of flash to get Angelus out like that. Maybe Angelus was the whole reason they turned this company over to us."

"How's that?" Spike asked.

"Yeah, you're thinking is on a completely different level right now." Gunn said.

"Well, I'm saying, maybe they knew we would wonder about the curse. I take that back. They knew if Angel was made whole again, I would wonder about the curse. Probably they figured that I would be curious enough to test it. They make sure the loophole is still in place, then Angelus would be out and about and they'd have the perfect guy to run this place."

"Ok, I'm catching up now."

"So, how do we find out?"

"I don't think we could trust the seers." Connor said. "They work for the senior partners."

"Then we definitely can't trust Eve." Spike said.

"I was never going to go to her in the first place." Buffy said. "I don't trust her."

"Are there any machines to detect that kind of thing?" Connor asked Fred.

"I doubt it. I mean, we could check for a mystical element on Angel, but that would be a waste of time. Whatever brought him back was mystical and besides, he's a vampire with a soul. That's nothing BUT mystical elements."

"Mystical elements." Buffy muttered.

"What are you thinking?" Angel asked.

"Willow. Maybe she could find a spell or…."

"We could go to Wesley's office and start looking through t his books." Connor suggested.

"Good idea. Gunn, call Willow and see what she can dig up and then meet us in Wesley's office."

"You got it." Gunn headed off.

"The rest of us have research to do."

* * *

"What's this?" Connor asked, holding a book up.

"What's what?" Xander asked.

"Shanshu. It says something about the vampire with a soul becoming human."

"I'm not human." Angel said.

"How can you tell?" Connor paused. "Don't answer that. It was a dumb question."

"Maybe you half shanshued." Xander said.

"I don't think there's a half way point." Angel said.

"We need Wesley." Buffy said. "These books…. This one's in some weird demon language."

Angel leaned over and read Buffy's book. "That's French, Buffy."

"Huh…. No wonder it looked a little familiar." She shut the book and set it in a pile in front of her. "I thought I'd seen it in one of Giles' demon-y books."

"What about this?" Gunn asked. "'Wandering souls seeking fulfillment.'"

"What's it say?" Connor asked.

"Never mind. "Fulfillment of their life's purpose.' It continued on the next page."

"Has Willow found anything?" Buffy asked. "We've been at this for hours."

"She said she'd call when she found something." Gunn said.

"What about Fred? Couldn't she modify her little clicky machine somehow?" Xander asked. "Get it to click once for, 'yes, there's a loophole' and click twice for 'go make mad monkey love'?"

"Mad monkey love?" Gunn asked, one eyebrow cocked.

"I've been trained to stay away from anything involving rabbits and/or bunnies."

"You're a strange man."

"His ex had a phobia." Buffy said.

"The ex meaning the ex-demon-fiancée?"

"Yeah." Buffy and Xander chorused.

"I got a question." Spike said. "That prophecy…. The shoes one…."

"Shanshu." Buffy said. "What of it?"

"What if it's not talking about Peaches over there?"

"You think it's talking about you?" Angel asked with an amused smile.

"Why not, you git? I've got a soul too, you know."

"Spike, that prophecy is not about you." Buffy said. "It's completely about Angel. He's the one that's saved the world time and time again."

"I've saved the world too."

"No, you've helped. Angel's died twice saving the world."

Spike pointed at her. "Both times he had no clue he was going to die."

"It doesn't matter. He still died."

"And there I was knowing what I was doing. Even when I didn't have a soul, I fought on the side of good."

"Because you had a chip in your brain that prevented you from doing anything else." Angel said. "It kept you from being bored."

Spike turned his attention on Angel. "All these years believing you're the signified monkey, only to find out you're just a big hunk of nobody cares. I really wished you stayed a ghost."

"But I didn't, did I?" Angel said. "I burned up saving the world, and now I'm back for real."

"Thinking you're the big savior…. fighting for truth, justice, and soccer moms…. but you still can't lay flesh on a cross without smelling like bacon, can you?"

"Like you're any different."

"Well, that's just it. I am."

"You asked for a soul. I didn't! It almost killed me. I spent a hundred years trying to come to terms with infinite remorse. You spent 3 weeks moaning in a basement, and then you were fine!"

"That's just it, you wannabe hero. You had a soul FORCED on you…. as a curse. Make you suffer for all the horrible things you'd done. But me…. I fought for my soul. Went through the demon trials. Almost did me in a dozen times over, but I kept fighting cause I knew it was the right thing to do."

"Really? Because I heard it was just to get into a girl's pants."

"Come on, hero. Tell me more. Teach me what it means. And I'll tell you why you can't stand the bloody sight of me."

"Tell it to your therapist."

"Cause every time you look at me you see all the dirty little things I've done, all the lives I've taken because of you! Drusilla sired me, but you…. you made me a monster."

"I didn't make you, Spike. I just opened up the door and let the real you out."

"You never knew the real me. Too busy trying to see your own reflection…. praying there was someone as disgusting as you in the world, so you could stand to live with yourself. Take a long look, hero. I'm nothing like you!"

"No. You're less. That's why Buffy never really loved you: Because you weren't me."

"Guess that means she was thinking about you…. all those times I was puttin' it to her."

"All right, that's enough!" Buffy yelled. "Both of you shut up! This is ridiculous. This has nothing to do with the prophecy! We're not in here to research the prophecy. We're here to find out about Angel and why he's back and what it means for the curse."

"You're just in here to see if you can play bump and grind with your sweetie bear now that his…."

"Spike, shut up." Xander said. "Buffy's been nothing but overly generous towards you and now you're acting like the brainless moron you are because there's a prophecy you _think_ is about you. What a way to pay the girl you say you love back."

"What do you know about women? The only ones you can get are demons."

"I know you're so desperate to get them that you're willing to rape them in their own home!"

Spike hauled off and punched Xander. "Stop it!" Buffy screamed, shooting to her feet and punching Spike so hard he flew across the room. "I've had it! Spike, if you can't play nice, you can't play. Please, just…. Leave."

"You firing me, then?" Spike asked.

"No. You can keep your paycheck, but I don't want to see you for a few days. Maybe even a few weeks."

"Fine." Spike threw up his hands and stormed out.

"I'm sorry about that, Buff." Xander said.

"Whatever." Buffy shook her head and walked out. "This is too much for me." She headed in the opposite direction as Spike, walking to her office. She got on her private elevator and waited for the doors to close. Just as they got to an inch apart, a hand shot through them and they opened again. "Angel…."

"I'm sorry." Angel said, blocking the doors. "I shouldn't have let it get that far."

"No, you shouldn't have."

"I'm sorry. I don't know what else to say."

"Please, just let the doors close so I can go away for a while."

Angel looked at Buffy for a long moment and then stepped back, letting the elevator doors close.


	69. Chapter 69

Chapter 69

Buffy walked around the neighborhood where she had grown up. It was well after dark now. She had been gone all day. To take her mind off things, she had shopped until it had become boring and by then, the sun was going down. After that, she had just started walking. Buffy stopped and looked up at the house she had grown up in until she had been sixteen. This place held so many bad and good memories.

The place was empty, a For Sale sign sitting in the front yard. She snuck around to the back and looked up into her old window. "I stood next to this tree every night after I first saw you." Angel said behind her. "I wished every night that I could go in there and comfort you."

"What are you doing here?" Buffy asked.

"I tracked you here. I was worried." He walked closer to her and wrapped his arms around her.

She leaned back into him and sighed. "I've wanted this for so long…. Now that you're back…. I don't even know if I'm ready for a relationship right now." She pulled away from Angel and walked towards the swing set. She sat down in one of the swings and sighed. "I've had a lot of time to think today. You know, things are complicated enough with my life. A relationship with anybody would be complicated. A relationship with you…."

"Would work, Buffy. It would." Angel moved around to stand in front of her. "It would be hard, but…."

"That's just what I'm saying. It would be hard. I need easy right now. Running Wolfram and Hart is hard and it's complex and it's taking up all my time. I never get to see my sister. She's the only family I have left and we're both so busy with our lives…. What chance do I have at making a difficult relationship work?"

"Every chance. Every chance, Buffy."

"Why are you pushing this?"

"Because I love you! Because I want you more than I can stand. It hurts when you're not with me. It hurts me even more to know that you don't want to be with me."

"It's not that I don't want to be with you. I do. It's just…."

"Wolfram and Hart is not the most important thing in the world. I promised you we would bring this place down together, and we will."

"And we'd never see each other. That place absorbs you. You have no choice but to be absorbed by it. I'm in over my head and I can't see which way is up."

"I'll help you, Buffy."

"I'll lose you."

"No."

"No?"

"You won't. We're in this together."

"In what?"

"I've run across this secret society called the Circle of the Black Thorn. They're powerful. They're in league with the Senior Partners. In fact, I believe they're the Senior Partners' eyes, ears, and hands on this plane."

"How did you find that out?"

"I did a lot of digging and snooping while I was a ghost."

"So, what do they have to do with bringing down Wolfram and Hart?"

"I think if we bring them down, we bring down the Senior Partners."

"What do we do, just kill them?"

"I don't know who they are. I just know the society exists."

"How do we find out who they are so we can kill them?"

"We become one of them."

"How?"

"I'm not sure. I'm still digging. But when we do this…. When we infiltrate the Circle…. We do it together. It's better that there be two of us they have to deal with."

Buffy looked at him. "I trust you, Angel. I'll do whatever needs to be done to bring Wolfram and Hart down."

"Good. That's the attitude you'll need to have." He looked at her intensely. "You're not going to get scared and back down if we need to go to the extreme with this, are you?"

"Why would you ask that question? Of course I'll go to the extremes with it if necessary."

"Good." He squeezed her hand and then lifted her knuckles to his lips.

"Did they figure out what was up with the computers and the phones?"

"It had something to do with the box of flash. It took so much energy to work that it sent everything around it out of whack. It's nothing we have to worry about."

Buffy wrapped her arms around Angel's waist and laid her head down on his chest. He kissed the crown of her head and rested his cheek there.

* * *

A week later, Buffy walked up to Harmony's desk. "Hey, Harmony, did you figure out the catering for tomorrow?"

"Sure did, boss. Catering is a go…. unless you have any requests." Buffy shook her head and took her coffee mug. "So, you've got the department heads at 11:00, your 1:00 with Mistress Shriva from human…. I'm sorry…. non-human resources got moved to 2:00. Swung by the cleaners. Zippo luck getting out the Frophla slime."

Buffy groaned. "God, I really liked that shirt. It was a Betsy Johnson!"

"Isn't she just fab? I absolutely love…."

Gunn walked up to Buffy and ushered her away towards her office. "Morning. We've got demon clan customs to talk about."

Harmony stood and followed. "So, about the, uh, catering? I really went above and beyond, 'cause I know this was very…." They completely ignored her, and shut the door in her face.

"Hey, how's Wes doing?" Buffy asked.

"He's back and ready for action." Gunn said. "Where's Angel?"

"He's coming. I sorta took up all the hot water this morning."

"I'm glad you asked him to take on the President position. You need someone to help you out."

"Not jealous, are you? I mean, I made you VP."

"Hell no, I'm not jealous. I love my position. Have you seen my new business cards?"

"Yeah, Dawn showed them to me yesterday."

"I got a question for you."

"Shoot."

"Why did you quit looking for anything on Angel's soul being bound to him?"

Buffy looked up at him. "I didn't. Willow's still searching for a way."

"It just seemed odd that we've got all these resources and you pulled out to let Willow do it all."

"She and the coven are good. If there's a way to detect it, they'll find it. Besides, Angel and I discussed it and we're going to keep it low key for now."

"Low key? You two? Good luck."

"It's actually working out fine. We're so busy around here that by the end of the day, sex is the farthest thing from our minds."

Gunn shook his head. "And you sleep in the same bed."

Buffy shrugged. "I've always slept better with him there."

"With who where?" Angel asked as the private elevator doors opened.

"You in the bed with me. I was telling Gunn I've always slept better with you there and a good night's sleep is what I've been needing."

"Well, you do look more refreshed in the mornings."

Fred, Wesley, Dawn, Xander, Harmony, and Lorne walked in. "Did we miss anything?" Dawn asked.

"Not yet." Spike said, catching the door before it could close. He walked into the office.

"Spike." Buffy said, not looking up at him.

"I was wondering when you'd turn up." Gunn said.

"Where have you been? It's been days." Fred said.

"Out enjoying freedom from my body-guard-confines, luv." Spike said. "Just thought I'd swing by and say my final farewells."

"You're leaving?" Wesley asked.

"You catch on quick, don't you? Yeah, I thought I'd push off. Peaches, you're welcome to that heroic destiny, whether you deserve it or not. Me, I got better things to do than wait around for the 4 bloody horsemen."

"Spike…."

"Let him go." Buffy said.

"Yeah. Here's the thing. Could use a little walkin'-around money. How 'bout a few hundred?"

"How 'bout no?"

"Typical. Right, then. Settle for some wheels."

"If it's gonna get you out of here faster, fine. Stay away from my BMW convertible."

"I've got my eye on the Viper."

"That's mine!" Angel said.

"Fair trade. Destiny for the Viper. Ta!"

"Well, bon voyage, Spikester. Don't be a stranger." Lorne said. Spike walked away with a dismissive wave.

"Now, where were we?" Buffy asked.

"Wow, you turned on him quick." Dawn said.

"Good riddance." Xander said.

"What?"

"Well, the guy was a jerk because he was mad that he didn't have a special destiny and his better-than-him rival does."

"Since when did you become pro-Angel?"

"When he didn't try to rape Buffy."

Buffy sighed. "Guys, can we get on point here? This is war. Two demon clans, the Vinjis and the Sahrvin. They've been battling it out for 5 generations." Everyone nodded and they all headed into the conference room.

Once they were settled and read through their files on the clans, Gunn began. "Way back when, clans got along ok. Shared a few hundred miles of desert, traded livestock, and even partied together once in a while. Then a Vinji used the wrong fork at a Sahrvin bonding ceremony. Sahrvins took offense, and they've been slaughtering each other ever since."

"You're saying this whole thing started over a fork faux pas?" Fred asked.

"They're pretty finicky about manners."

"But the clans have agreed to negotiate a truce, here, tomorrow." Buffy said.

"Why now?" Xander asked.

"Demon rights activist by the name of Tobias Dupree got involved." Gunn said. "He's liaison to both clans. Only guy in the world they all trust, and he called us for help."

"Etiquette aside," Wesley said. "The Vinji and the Sahrvin are notoriously vicious. Why not let them wipe each other out?"

"Hey, I got no love for these guys, but we manage to push through a peace plan and the whole demon world's gonna know we got game." Gunn said.

"That makes sense, in a kind of gray, Machiavellian kind of way." Dawn said.

"Obviously both clans are sensitive to the smallest slight." Angel said.

"Exactly." Buffy agreed. "We don't dot an I or cross a T, this whole thing could explode in our faces."

"This is a complete list of manners and customs." Gunn said, handing out more folders. "We should probably all memorize this."

Xander let out a nervous laugh. "Apparently, gazing at a Vinji's ankles can lead to eye gouging." He looked at Buffy.

She smiled. "Don't worry, Xand. There will be no eye-gouging."

Dan, Lorne's assistant, walked up to the conference room door. Lorne noticed him and waved him in. "Come on. Dandito, come on. He gets a wee shy around the big boss because he's got an adorable little crush on her. And who can blame him, eh? You're always fab, cupcake." Lorne said to Buffy. He turned and waved at Dan. "All the way in, yeah."

"I, uh, finished the seating chart." Dan handed Lorne a small presentation board and let out a nervous laugh when he looked up at Buffy. She smiled and he blushed profusely, dashing from the room.

Lorne looked over the chart. "All right. That kid was up all night jigsawing who's going where tomorrow. He's a real up-and-comer, that one."

"My lab managed that upgrade to the weapons scanner, like you requested." Fred said.

"Foolproof?" Buffy asked.

"I'd say yes, but then some fool would just come along and sneak something past us, but it's still state of the art."

"And since none of the clan representatives speak English, I'll be doing most of the talking." Gunn said.

"You?" Wesley asked.

"Yeah. Along with the law…. and the Gilbert and Sullivan…. also got me a few demon languages in the brain upload."

"So, aside from forks, ankles, and us not knowing what they're saying, any other potential minefields?" Dawn asked.

Buffy looked at Angel. "All their etiquette issues go along with a healthy dose of superstition."

Harmony, who had been sitting in the corner of the room taking notes, suddenly piped up. "You don't know the half of it. I've been doing a whole bunch of research on these guys, their customs and stuff? Did you know that they think poodles are wicked bad luck?"

"Harmony, I'm glad you're here." Wesley said. "We'll be needing lunch."

"Oooh, good idea." Buffy said. "We should order before the crush."

"Not Thai again. Something lighter." Fred said.

* * *

Buffy stood in the middle of the lobby, frowning, with hers hands on her hips, waiting for Harmony. "Harmony! Do you wanna explain this?" Buffy was frowning at a huge camel standing in the middle of the lobby.

"Ok, this is totally my fault." Harmony said. "I specifically told the caterers the delivery was for tomorrow, but I should've called to confirm. You know caterers: not the best listeners."  
The elevator dinged and Fred walked out, reading papers. She almost ran into the camel and cried out in surprise. "Harmony, uh, got us a camel." Buffy said.

"Like I said, I did a lot of research. Camel meat's a delicacy, so I thought it would be a great way to kick off the summit, 'cause of the clans being so uptight? Like…. comfort food."

Buffy raised an eyebrow. "Comfort food?"

"Uh-huh! And as host, you get the honor of slicing off its hump and sticking a hot poker through its heart. And then the demon leaders rip apart its carcass with their bare hands."

Buffy's famous annoyed-to-the-point-of-cracking face appeared and she chuckled to herself. "Are you…. I don't even know how…."

"Maybe the camel was the wrong way to go." Fred said to Harmony.

"Harmony, you are supposed to answer the phones, make appointments, and anticipate my needs, which does not include a petting zoo in my lobby."

"Ok, but…. caterer said no returns."

The camel snorted and Buffy snapped. "Get it out of here!" She turned on her heel and stormed into her office.


	70. Chapter 70

Chapter 70

Angel walked up to Harmony's desk. "Blood?"

Harmony looked at her clothes, panicked. "Where?!"

"That's what I'd like to know. Where's my blood?"

Buffy walked out of her office. "Harmony, where's my coffee? I need caffeine! I've got the demon summit today, and you're late, and…." Buffy walked up and noticed Harmony peering up over her desktop. "What are you doing?"

"Desk crunches. Get fit while you sit. You should see my abs. You wanna?" Buffy and Angel glared. "Mug o' blood and grande caffeine, coming right up, boss…. es."

"Harmony…."

"Huh?"

"I can't afford to have anything go wrong today."

"What could go wrong?"

"Take that back!"

"Why!?"

"It's bad luck to say that. The minute you say that is the minute everything goes to hell. And it could be literally with these clans!"

"Can I schedule you a massage? You're so tense you're voice has risen to a much higher octave and…."

"No!! Just…. Get me coffee!" Buffy turned and headed back into her office.

Angel followed her, shutting the door behind him. "Hey." Buffy sighed and slumped in her chair, hitting the button to fog the windows so no one could see in. "It'll be ok."

"I just need to make it through the summit. That's all I want right now."

"We'll make it through the summit. And we'll make it through the next thing and the next and the next."

"Eventually landing us at the next thing which will be the Black Thorn."

"Yeah."

Buffy's intercom buzzed. "Yeah?"

"There's a Detective Griffin for you." Harmony said.

"Put him through." Harmony pressed buttons on the phone. "This is Buffy."

"Yeah, this is Dave Griffin, L.A.P.D. Thought you'd wanna know, we found a body this morning. Vampire attack. Looks like he was…."

"Hold on. Harmony! I got it!"

"Oh. Right. Sorry." Harmony hung up.

"Ok, go ahead detective."

"Vamp attack. Found the body wrapped in a laundry bag and dumped in a garbage bin."

"I gotta ask…. Why are you calling us?"

"You own us, ma'am."

"Ok."

"The man had a Wolfram and Hart card and his ID on him. His name was one Tobias Dupree."

"Oh my god!"

"You knew him, ma'am."

"Uh, yes. Thank you detective." Buffy hung up and called Gunn. "Get Wesley and get in here, now."

"What's up?" Angel asked.

"Toby Dupree."

"The liaison?"

"They found him dead this morning."

"Oh hell."

Buffy saw Gunn and Wesley walking up and she walked out to meet them at the door. "Perhaps one of the Vinjis set down a teacup improperly." Wesley said.

"Worse." Buffy said. "Just got off the phone with the L.A.P.D. They found a body."

"Where? Did he say where?" Harmony asked suddenly.

"City dump, wrapped in a laundry bag."

"And the police called you because…." Wesley asked.

"Apparently, we own them."

"Right. Makes sense." Gunn said.

"Of course." Wesley agreed.

"Well, that, and they found my card on the victim." Buffy said. "It was the liaison between the feuding clans."

"Toby Dupree?" Gunn asked.

"Toby! That was his…." Harmony noticed the others turn their attention to her. "Name. Really? Huh. You don't hear unusual names like that anymore."

"We're gonna have to do some serious damage control." Angel said.

"You think? Demon rights activist gets munched by a vamp on our watch?" Gunn said.

"No telling how the clans are gonna take this." Wesley said. "Superstitious as they are, they may see it as an omen or…. It is possible that someone's trying to send a message, derail the summit."

"Oh man, this is going to be so bad!" Harmony's phone rang and after she answered it, she looked at Buffy with a terrified look in her eyes. "What?" Buffy asked.

"It's the Vinji clan." Harmony said.

Buffy groaned loudly and walked into her office. She waved at Harmony to put the call through. "Gunn, this is your area. Step up to bat." Buffy sat down at her desk put the call on the speakerphone. The demons spoke their demon language, and Gunn translated.

"The Vinji clan is deeply concerned about this turn of events." Gunn said.

"Perhaps if you say something." Wesley said to Buffy.

"Oh, no." Buffy said. "Look, just tell them that the summit can proceed as planned, and they shouldn't, you know, start skinning each other or whatever."

Gunn talked to the Vinji leader and then looked at Buffy. "They're lookin' for vengeance." The Vinji leader started yelling and clicking.

"Tell them we're on it." Buffy said.

Gunn clicked and talked back to the Vinji leader and then hung up. "Oh man."

"Forgive and forget, I say! It's the Golden Rule." Harmony said from the doorway.

"These guys are not gonna forgive, and they're definitely not gonna forget until we figure out…."

"Who killed Dupree." Buffy said. "I know. Fred'll be able to tell us some more soon. Dupree's body should be in the lab by now."

"That was fast."

"Shouldn't take long to track down the vampire who did this, set things right. Hopefully it'll be cleared up by the time the clans get here."

* * *

The demon tribal leaders were talking to Buffy, Angel, and Gunn in the lobby. Buffy noticed Connor and Xander walked in, see the screeching demons, and then turn and walk quickly back out.

"What?" Angel asked Gunn between screeching. "What is she saying?"

"Thay want to walk." Gunn said. He clicked and screeched back at the Vinji leader. "I told her…."

"I got the general idea." Buffy said. "What do they want?"

The leader screeched and Gunn's face fell. "That ain't good."

"What?"

"Seems it's bad luck to get things going before we cough up a little eye for an eye. Seeing as though we don't have the actual bad guy, they're willing to accept a substitute."

"They want a blood sacrifice?" Buffy asked. "Harmony!"

Harmony popped out from behind the corner. "A person makes one little mistake…."

"Find Fred. I want to know what she got off the body."

"Fred? Right. I'm on it." Harmony walked across the lobby.

Buffy looked at Angel. "No wonder Xander bolted. I guess he got that eye part."

* * *

Fred, Dawn Rudy, and Lorne sat in Buffy's office holding ice packs to their heads. Harmony had interrupted the summit when she had staked the vampire who had framed her for Dupree's murder.

"You should have just come to me." Buffy said to Harmony as she checked on Dawn's head.

"Gee, I wish I would have thought of telling her that." Fred said.

"I'm really, really sorry, you guys." Harmony said. "I totally wouldn't have hit you over he head and put you in the closet if I didn't have a really good reason. It's just…. I was scared, and…. I know you never wanted me as your assistant, and…. Ok, I made some bad choices. I mean, it's not like I have a soul. I have to try a lot harder."

Gunn walked out of the conference room, closing the door behind him. "How's it going in there?" Angel asked.

"Well, so far, no heads are rolling." Gunn said. "How 'bout in here?"

"Harmony could've handled it better, but she didn't kill anyone." Fred said.

Rudy the blood tester, sighed and stood up. "You'll be clean in 2 days, but I'll be watchin' you."

"I know." Harmony said. "He won't have to be watching 'cause…. I'll just pack up my desk." She turned to leave.

"Harmony?" The other blonde turned back to Buffy. "Just bring us some coffee." Harmony walked out.

The doors to the conference room opened and the Vinji leader and the Sahrvin leader stood there together. They clicked and screeched at Gunn and Gunn's expression turned to surprised. "Really!?"

"What?" Buffy asked.

"They're ready to sign the peace agreement."

"Really!?"

Gunn clicked and screeched at the leaders and then looked at Buffy. "They like the terms you set for them and have agreed to sign the peace treaty."

"That's awesome!"

"I've got this." Gunn said. "You guys go ahead and take the rest of the day off."

"Works for me." Fred said, getting up.

"I'm going home and sleeping off my headache." Dawn said. "At least I don't have to go to school."

"Why?" Angel asked.

"Oh, Principal Wood gave me my diploma and declared me a graduate."

"You had one year to go."

"I know! Isn't he the coolest!?" Dawn walked out.

"I used to be the coolest." Angel said. Buffy shrugged and noticed that they were alone in the room. Angel looked down at her and moved a little closer. "Guess what."

"What?"

"I got us tickets."

"To?"

"_The Phantom Of the Opera_. They're in town for a week."

"Oh, nifty."

"Well, unfortunately Sarah Brightman and Michael Crawford don't do Christine and the Phantom anymore, but I hear this cast is pretty good."

"When is it?"

"Tonight."

"Tonight?"

"I took the liberty of buying you a dress to wear."

"Really?"

"We'll be taking the limo tonight to La Lumiere and then to see _Phantom_ where we have box seats."

"How did you pull this off?"

"I used Wolfram and Hart's connections."

"You're good."

"I try. Our reservations are for five and the salon team is expecting you at three thirty."

"That's in fifteen minutes."

"You better hurry then."

"What if I'd have been in that summit still?"

"I had Gunn arrange it so you wouldn't have to be as a just in case."

"How long have you been planning this?"

"Hey, I promised you a real date. Now get going. We can't be late."


	71. Chapter 71

Chapter 71

Buffy sat in her office going through paperwork. Angel sat on the couch going through files and catching up on everything he needed to know. It was late at night and everyone had gone home except Buffy, Angel, and Harmony. Harmony was getting ready to go home, though. Spike had come back. Actually, he had never left. He had gotten himself an apartment a ways from Wolfram and Hart and started helping the helpless by himself.

Harmony knocked on Buffy's door. "Boss, we just got a tip some looney's hatched from the bin."

"A who did a what?" Buffy asked.

"A girl over in the nuthouse went all Cuckoo's Nest, hacked up a couple of guards and went over the wall."

"Really not our department, Harmony. Notify the authorities and make sure they're on it."

"Ok, but they better bring a priest. Looks like this chick's gone all kinds of exorcist."

Buffy set down her papers. "Wait a minute. She's possessed?"

"Duh! Didn't I say that?" Harmony shook her head. "You want me to get a team together?"

"No. I don't want to go storming in with troops until we know what we've got here. I'll handle it."

"Ok. Can I go ahead and…."

"Goodnight Harmony."

"Thanks." Harmony dashed out.

Buffy sighed and stood up, grabbing her coat off the edge of her desk. "Want me to come with?" Angel asked.

"Only if you want to. I'm sure this won't take long." Buffy said.

* * *

The elevator bell dinged and both elevators opened simultaneously. Spike walked out of one and Buffy and Angel walked out of the other. They stepped off the elevators at the same time.

Spike turned to see them standing beside him. "Oh. Well, fancy this." Buffy and Angel walked away as Spike talked. "Come to check yourselves in?"

"What are you doing here, Spike?" Buffy asked.

"Didn't get the memo? Hero of the people now."

"Oh, then go and annoy them."

"When I'm done. Heard one of the simples went for a stroll."

"And we'll get her back without your help." Angel said, blocking Spike's way so Buffy could talk to the doctor.

"Goody for you, 'cause, uh, not offering it."

"Look, shouldn't you be out in the streets, you know, protecting the city from people like you?"

"Go where I'm needed."

"Which isn't here."

Buffy walked up to the nurse's station and the nurse smiled. "May I help you?"

A doctor walked out from his office. "Can I help you?"

"Hi. I'm Buffy Summers from Wolfram & Hart." She handed the doctor a business card.

"A lawyer? I already told the police everything I know."

"Well, let's go over it again, just in case you left out any details."

"Ok. Sure." Buffy followed the doctor to one of the rooms. Inside, the room was covered with drawings. They were bright, vibrant, and terribly disturbing. One picture showed a wolf-monster growling. Another showed a cave-woman on her knees before a huge fiery monster. "Her name was Dana Cook. She was a special case. Her family was murdered in their home when she was 10. Whoever did it took Dana and tortured her for months. She was found one day naked and bleeding, wandering the streets. Barely functional, nearly catatonic ever since."

"Looks like she snapped out of it." Spike said. He had wandered into the room with Angel.

"Several months ago her condition changed. Increasing levels of agitation accompanied by explosive outbursts of inhuman strength." Buffy's attention snapped to the doctor and then she looked more closely at the pictures.

"Right. Demon possession." Spike said.

"That's ridiculous."

"You're not helping, Spike." Angel said.

"No, I'm doing." Spike said. "You can hang out for the show-and-tell-me-nothing. I got a demon needs repossessing." Spike grabbed a drawing off the wall. "Ta." He walked out of the room.

"Sorry. He's…. is pathological idiot an actual condition?"

"May I suggest that you stop your friend?" The doctor said. "If he finds Dana, he's gonna end up dead like the others."

"It would solve our problems." The doctor left and Buffy took a few of the pictures off the wall. "What's up, sweetie?"

"These pictures…. The scenes…. I've seen them before." Buffy said.

"Where?"

"In my dreams."

"What kind of dreams have you been having lately?"

"Not lately. Before I became the Slayer. Or…. WHEN I became the Slayer, I should say. These are different Slayers." She held up the picture of the girl chained to the floor. "This is the First Slayer. This is how they made her." She held up the picture of a woman with dark red hair bleeding from her arm where the wolf-monster had slashed her. "This is Lucy Hanover. She was a Slayer in the late 1800s. The longest living Slayer until I came along."

Angel took a picture off the wall and showed it to Buffy. "Look familiar?"

Buffy looked at the drawing of a brownish colored scary looking monster with long fingers that ended with sharp fingernails. "A Turok-Han." Buffy looked back at the pictures in her hands, a tear falling down her cheek and onto one of the drawings. "This is my fault."

"No….."

"Those guards…. They died because Dana became a Slayer."

"You couldn't have known about her. Don't beat yourself up because one Slayer out of thousands was…. Insane. You couldn't have known."

"We've got to find her. I've got to stop her."

"How?"

"Well, I'll have to track her." Buffy took out her cell phone and dialed a number.

"Wyndam-Pryce." Wesley answered.

"Wes, it's me. Check with our police informants. I need the last known sighting of Dana Cook. I need a technical assault team on the ground in 5 minutes. Non-lethal ordinance."

"Do you think that's wise? I've been brushing up on demonic possessions since Harmony called…."

"That's not what's happening."

"Are you sure? Multiple personality manifestations are often associated with cases of possession."

"She's not a demon, Wes. She's a vampire slayer."

"Good heavens!"

"I've got to find her. Can you track her?"

* * *

Spike landed face-down on the pavement outside the warehouse right as Angel drove up in Buffy's car. Angel stopped the car and he and Buffy got out as Spike slowly stood up. "What happened?" Angel asked.

"Oh, I just thought I'd see what it was like to bounce off the pavement." Spike said. "Pretty much what I expected."

"Stay out of it. Tactical's on the way."

"Oh, right. Sure, she'll hang around till they show up."

"You should've waited." Buffy said to Spike, looking up at the building.

"Hey, keep your knickers on. Least now I know what we're dealin' with. It's a Chinese demon. Maybe a water dragon or one of those elemental thingies." Buffy and Angel sighed and rolled their eyes. "What?!"

"She's not a demon, Spike." Angel said.

"Then what is she, hero?"

"She's a Slayer." Buffy said, heading into the building.

"What?"

"Buffy, wait…." Angel walked in after her.

"Dana?" Buffy called out to the darkness. There was no answer, so she moved through each of the floors carefully. "We won't hurt you."

"Much." Spike added.

"Shut up, Spike." Buffy snapped. "Dana…."

"Bird's flown the coup. So, you're saying she's a Slayer?"

"Yes."

"A psychotic Slayer?"

"Yes!"

"Wow." Spike shook his head and followed Buffy and Angel out of the building. "A psychotic vampire Slayer."

"How many times you gonna keep sayin' that?" Angel asked.

"Just tryin' to wrap my lobes around it. A psycho Slayer."

"And you let her get away." Buffy said.

"At least I was tryin' to stop her."

"Oh, how'd that work out?"

"At least I know the game, now, don't I? I killed 2 Slayers with my own hands. Think I can handle one that's gone daft in the melon."

"You're not handling anything, Spike. Ok?" Buffy and Angel got in the BMW convertible. "I've got this."

* * *

Buffy, Angel, and Spike walked into the conference room where Wesley, Gunn, Fred, Xander, Dawn, Connor, and Lorne were waiting.

"Buffy, we were just about to begin." Wesley said.

"Who's that?" Buffy asked, pointing at an additional person waiting in the conference room. The guy turned around in his chair to reveal that he was Andrew. His hair was slightly longer and he was wearing a suit and tie and holding a pipe.

Spike rolled his eyes. "Oh, for the love of…."

"Spike!" Andrew ran toward Spike, hugging him tightly. He looked at Angel and gasped. "It's you! It's really you! My therapist thought I was holding onto false hope for Buffy's sake, but…. I knew you'd come back. You're like…. you're like Gandalf the White, resurrected from the pit of the Balrog, more beautiful than ever. Ohh…. he's alive, Frodo! He's alive."

"Wow." Buffy said. "I thought Watcher training would make you less of a loser, but I was wrong. Really, really, wrong."

"So, you guys know each other." Gunn said, smirking.

"We saved the world." Andrew said proudly, hugging Buffy and Angel's shoulders. They shrugged him off and Andrew looked at Angel. "Uh, so what happened? Last I heard, you went all pillar of fire down in the Hellmouth."

"Could we save memory lane till after we contain this psychotic superpowered killing machine?" Spike asked.

"We were just about to bring everyone up to speed on Slayer mythology." Wesley said. "I thought it might be wise to hear it from the actual Slayer."

"AN actual Slayer, Wes." Buffy said. "I'm not the only one anymore."

"Touché."

"Buffy smiled. "Ok, let's see if I can remember all of this. Into every generation, a Slayer is born. One girl in all the world, a Chosen One, born with the strength and skill to hunt the vampires to stop the spread of their evil. Every Slayer starts out as a Potential."

"There are hundreds of them…. maybe thousands per generation."

"Till Little Miss Sunnydale shook things up." Spike said.

"All the potentials became Slayers." Angel said.

"I must say again, Buffy: An army of Slayers was a brilliant stratagem."

"With the help of Buffy's new compounds, Mr. Giles and Willow have been tracking down the recently chosen…. uh, guiding them, training them…. giving them the full X-Men, minus the crappy third act." Andrew said. "But this Dana girl, she's an anomaly that no one could have foreseen. Tortured, traumatized…. driven insane by Yoda knows who."

"And then the dreams of demons and superpowers she's always had…. All potential Slayers have…. suddenly became real." Buffy said.

"The dreams of Slayers are usually just that…. dreams. But Dana's mental instability may be making them seem more real." Wesley said.

"Wes, Slayer dreams aren't always just dreams." Angel said, glancing at Buffy.

"What do you mean?"

"They have the Sight too. It doesn't work like Cordelia's visions, but Buffy has had a few visions in her time."

"Really?" Wesley looked at Buffy. "You never told me about that."

"Well," Buffy shrugged. "You never asked and I was never really forthcoming with all the details because I just didn't like you that much."

"You knew Wesley before here?" Gunn asked.

"I thought…. You never told them?"

"I thought I had." Wesley said.

"Wesley was my third Watcher."

"Wait, third?" Fred asked. "I thought Giles was your first Watcher."

Buffy smiled sadly and shook her head. "No. Merrick was my first Watcher. He died to save me."

Angel grasped her hand. "If I could've helped, I would have."

"You knew Buffy back then?" Gunn asked. Angel nodded. "How far back does your history go with her?"

"I first saw Buffy when she was fifteen. It was the day she was called as a Slayer. I only watched over her for a year or so and then she kicked my ass in an alley one night in Sunnydale…."

"And it was love at first knock down." Buffy said.

"Wow." Fred said. "And I thought you only knew each other in Sunnydale."

"Well, we did." Angel said.

"Can we get back to the psycho Slayer?" Spike asked. "These dreams…. They're of past Slayers, yeah?" Buffy nodded. "Explains why that skirt was yappin' at me in Chinese. Must've thought she was the Slayer I took out back in the Boxer Rebellion."

"You mean the Slayer you murdered." Buffy said.

"Well, I didn't have a soul back then, did I?"

"Right, 'cause having one now is making such a difference." Angel said.

"You corporates go ahead with your talky-talk. Anybody needs me, I'll be out doin' her job." Spike walked out of the room.

Angel followed. "Spike? You think this is a joke?"

"Only if you're the punch line."

"Look, we're the last 2 people that should be confronting her. She's a Slayer. She has every reason to hate us, and she's unstable. In her mind, there probably aren't any good vampires. She exists for one reason: to destroy creatures like us."

"Dance of death. Eternal struggle. Right. Got it."

"You will…. when she's staking you in the heart."

"What do you want me to do? Go all boo-hoo 'cause she got tortured and driven out of her gourd? Not like we haven't done worse back in the day."

"Yeah, and it's somethin' I'm still payin' for."

"And you should let it go, mate. It's startin' to make you look old." Spike turned away and walked toward the elevator.

Buffy heard the exchange and looked at Xander. "How fast can your team track Dana?"

"Well, it depends on how high profile this girl is." Xander said. "I'd say not long, what with her being a crazy on the loose with super powers."

"I want to know the second you find her. I'm going to go get her."

"By yourself?" Gunn asked.

"Of course by myself. She needs me. I'm the reason she's a Slayer."

"You didn't know she was crazy though."

"No. No, I didn't."

"You shouldn't feel guilty about it, Buffy." Dawn said. "What you and Willow did was amazing. You saved the world and made all those girls Slayers. They'll go on to keep their parts of the world safe."

"And you're not the only one anymore." Connor said. "You can have that life that you've always wanted."

Buffy snorted. "Some life. I'm spending it here fighting evil." She shook her head and went into her office, shutting the doors behind her.


	72. Chapter 72

Chapter 72

Buffy wandered the streets searching for Dana. She had gone up to her penthouse and changed into her old Slaying clothes. Packing a couple of stakes, she had headed out. The others had probably noticed that she was gone by now, but they wouldn't find her. She had left her cell phone back in her office.

"So, decided to quit playing boss lady and get out do your job finally?" Spike asked behind her. Buffy just kept walking. She had known he'd been behind her for the last mile or so. "Well, I see you couldn't get your new designer clothes dirtied up…."

"What do you want, Spike?"

"To help you. That's all I've ever wanted to do."

"Hasn't seemed like it these last few weeks."

"You've been up Angel's ass these last few weeks."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means that you've ditched the people that care about you because he's solid again!"

"I haven't ditched anybody. You're the one that walked out. You're the one that picked that fight."

"He can have the prophecy. I know it's not about me."

"Then why did you fight about it?"

"Because…." Spike groaned in frustration. "I had hope. I had hope that maybe it was about me and maybe one day I could have redemption for everything I've done. But the more I think about it…. He's the one that's trying. He's the one that's been trying to redeem himself, not me. I got my soul because it's what I thought you wanted. But I knew…. Deep down, I knew what you wanted wasn't me with a soul. It was him. I guess that prophecy made me realize it."

"How?"

"Because…. He'll be the one that turns human and you'll be with him. You'll get to have the perfect life with him and not me." He sighed. "I thought if the prophecy was about me, then I might have a shot at being the one you have that perfect life with."

"Spike…."

"We're just friends." Buffy nodded. "I can't help wanting more. I've never cared about anybody like I care about you."

"I know."

"It'd be easier if they'd never put that chip in my head. Then I could hate you like I used to and these feelings wouldn't gnaw at my insides like they do."

"Spike, I'm glad they put that chip in. You helped me live again. You've had my back when no one else did. You were my friend when I had no one to turn to. I can't thank you enough." Buffy reached up and gently kissed Spike's lips. When she looked up at him after stepping away, she saw that he was blushing. "I didn't know vampires could do that."

"What?"

"Blush."

"We don't." Spike cleared his throat. "I'm not blushing."

Buffy smiled. "You were too."

"Don't push your luck, Slayer."

"Speaking of…."

"She's got blood on her hands. You're headed in the right direction."

As they continued to walk, Buffy shook her head. "I feel like this is my fault."

"You really shouldn't."

"I know I shouldn't. I couldn't have known that one in a thousand of my Slayers would be…. Like this."

"I blame it on the coven. They're the ones that were supposed to pick up on all potentials. They could pick 'em up in the middle of a desert, but they couldn't pick her up in the middle of LA?"

Buffy shrugged. "I don't know."

Spike sighed suddenly. "Right. We can play cat and mouse all night." He reached over and pulled Andrew by the lapels out from behind the fence. "Or I could wedgie you unconscious and be done with it."

"Bravo." Andrew said. "I see your senses seem to be as well-honed as your Viggo Mortensen pectorals."

"What are you doing out here, Andrew?" Buffy asked.

"This is where the action is. On the mean streets. Can you dig it?"

"Go back to Wolfram & Hart. I don't have time for games."

"That's good, 'cause Andy ain't playin'." Andrew opened his overcoat to reveal several guns in the lining. Buffy and Spike raised their eyebrows. "You're not the only one who's changed. Mr. Giles has been training me. I'm faster, stronger, and 82 more manly than the last time we…." Andrew tripped over something and fell to the ground. He looked over to see that he had tripped over a dead man whose throat had been slit. He let out a scream that rivaled a five year old girl.

Buffy and Spike started laughing. "Yeah, you're real manly." Buffy said between laughs.

Andrew stood up. "It caught me by surprise!"

Spike, still laughing, kneeled down and checked out the dead man's neck. "I'm guessing our girl's been here. Doctor's said she took a bone saw from the hospital."

"So, we're definitely headed in the right direction." She walked over to a pay phone and called the police. She told them who she was and that she'd found a dead body. When she got off the phone, Andrew was talking to Spike.

"Well, mostly, I talk to Rupert. But we all check in. Willow and Kennedy are in Brazil. They're based in Sao Paulo, but, um, every time I talk to them, they're in Rio." Spike sniffed the air. Andrew inhaled deeply and exhaled quickly. "What's it smell like? Blood, I mean?"

"Oh…. metallic, sorta. You ever taste a penny?" Spike asked.

"No. Wait…. no."

"Smells like that."

Andrew spotted a penny on the ground and picked it up as they continued walking. Buffy rolled her eyes and looked at Spike. "Are we close?"

"Yeah."

Behind them, Andrew put the penny in his mouth. He made a few gagging sounds and spit the penny out. "So, how're you two? Buffy, you seem kind of tense."

"I've got a lot going on." Buffy said.

"I always thought you were a loner…. playin' it cucumber, as in 'cool as a….'"

"Could you just…. Shut your mouth." Buffy looked around, sensing there was someone nearby. Someone familiar like Faith. She figured it had to be Dana. "Spike…."

"No problem, girlfriend. You're a troubled hero with her creature of the night boyfriend. El creatro del noche…."

"Please stop." Spike said.

"Living by your own rules. Unafraid of anything or anyone…."

Buffy grabbed Andrew's lapels and lifted him off the ground. "Shut up!" She dropped him and turned to Spike. "She's nearby. I can feel her."

"What's wrong?" Andrew asked, getting to his feet.

"Yeah. The blood…. Smells different. Stronger."

"Like nickels?" Buffy and Spike ran around the corner following the scent and Buffy's connection to Dana. Andrew ran after them. They were in an alley where 55-gallon drums were stored. "Dead end."

Buffy saw a bloody streak on the alley wall and went to investigate. "It's her blood." Spike said.

Dana suddenly appeared in the alley and punched Andrew in the head, knocking him out. She grabbed Spike and he punched her into a drum. Dana stood up and punched and kicked Spike. He smashed her head into another drum and she elbowed him in the stomach. Buffy jumped in, trying to break the fight up, but Spike grabbed Dana and swung her by the arm across the alley into a stack of drums. As they continued to fight, Andrew got up and pulled a gun out of his jacket. When Dana knocked Spike down, Andrew aimed the gun at Dana and shot. Dana dodged the dart and it hit Buffy in the arm.

Buffy instantly ripped the dart out of her arm. "Damn it, Andrew!"

Andrew paused to reload, but Dana kicked him in the face, knocking him down again. She ran past him and out of the alley.

Spike got to his feet and grabbed Buffy as she stumbled from the effects of the tranq gun. "You ok?"

"Go. Don't let her…. Get…." Buffy passed out. Spike reluctantly ran after Dana.

* * *

When Buffy woke up, she was sitting in a dank warehouse-like place. The last thing she had remembered was an alleyway, not a warehouse.

"Oh, God." She heard Spike say from another part of the warehouse. "Can't feel…. M-my…."

"No!" Dana yelled. Buffy looked around to see Dana sitting on a chained up Spike, punching him. "No more daddy…. no more mommy…. no more hands. Can't touch me ever again."

"I never touched you. Stop. Stop. You got it wrong. Your brain's all jumbled. I never hurt you. It wasn't me. I've done my share of bad, but you're not one of 'em. It's someone else. You've got me confused with another man. Visions…. are mixing…. with your real memories. All right? Got 'em stuffed in your head. Other Slayers, other places. New York…. China….Yeah. That's what you're remembering…. other Slayers."

"You killed her."

"Yes. But…."

"You killed them both."

"That and worse. But I was never here."

Buffy stood up as Dana punched Spike repeatedly in the face. "Doesn't matter! Head and heart. Keep cutting till you see dust." She wielded her bone saw as she kneeled over Spike.

Buffy grabbed Dana and threw her across the room. Dana got to her feet. "Dana…. I'm here to help you."

"I know you."

"I made you."

"Can't hurt me. Not weak anymore."

"That's right."

"Strong. Slayer."

"Like me." Dana's head cocked to the side. "I'm a Slayer too."

"Gone. Dead. Like the others."

"No. I came back."

"Vampire."

"No. Magic."

"Kill William the Bloody. He killed them."

"He's not William the Bloody anymore. He's good. Like us."

Dana shook her head frantically. "No."

"Yes. Those things he did back then…. He was bad. He's good now."

"He hurt me."

"That wasn't him."

Dana started to cry as she shook her head and Buffy went to her. Dana let Buffy hold her as she cried. Behind them, Angel and Wesley rushed in with Xander heading up the tactical team. Angel looked around and spotted Spike's arms on a nearby workbench. "Get the med team down here. Now!" Angel said.

Buffy held Dana as she cried, stroking her hair. "We're going to take you someplace better, ok? No one will ever hurt you again."

"Strong." Dana muttered. "Slayer. Like you."

Buffy smiled as Angel brought her a blanket. She wrapped it around Dana and they stood up, Buffy still holding onto Dana's shoulders tightly. Spike sat on the floor half out of it. He explained to Buffy as best he could that Dana had shot him up with some drug that the man that tortured Dana had used on her. As the paramedics arrived, Angel helped Buffy escort Dana to one of the ambulances.

Andrew stepped up to Buffy. "I'll take it from here."

"No, Andrew, you won't." Buffy said.

"Giles sent me to…."

"What? Take care of her while you sit on a plane unprotected?" Buffy got up into the ambulance with Dana. "Dana's my responsibility. I'll take her to England myself."

"I'm coming with you." Angel said, getting in the ambulance as well.

"Angel, I can't ask you…."

"You didn't. I'm going."

Buffy smiled as Angel shut the doors behind them. Dana suddenly scrambled away from the paramedic when he pulled out a needle. "Put that away!" Buffy snapped at the guy.

"I was just going to give her a sedative." He said.

"What do you think that man tortured her with? Puppies?" Dana curled up next to Buffy and Buffy protectively wrapped her arms around the girl.

* * *

Angel sat with Buffy on the jet over to England. Dana was asleep on the couch in the back. Buffy had had medical whip up a soda laced with a sleeping drug so Dana wouldn't freak out on the trip.

Buffy looked over at Angel gripping his armrests tightly. "Maybe you should've drank that cocktail."

"What?" Angel asked. "I'm fine."

"You're putting fist shaped dents in the armrests."

"I've never flown before." He jumped when the plane hit an air pocket, causing the plane to bounce. "What was that!? We're crashing!"

"No we're not. We're fine. It's just a little turbulence."

"Are you sure?"

Buffy gently pried Angel's hand from the armrest closest to her and held his hand. He squeezed it tightly, almost to the breaking point. "You're ok, Angel. I'm here." He looked over at her. "We'll be in England soon."

Connor walked out of the kitchen at the front of the plane. "These cookies are delicious!" He said through a mouthful. "Dad, you want some?"

"I'm fine." Angel said.

"Connor, we're having dinner with Giles. I wish you'd save some room." Buffy said.

"What, are you kidding? Of course I'll have room. I'm always hungry." Connor said, stuffing another cookie in his mouth.

"You know, I bet those cookies are like the ones Ted made."

"Who's Ted?"

"My mom's ex boyfriend. He was a homicidal robot. He put some kind of drug in his cookies to mellow you out and make you want more of them so you stay mellow."

"Then I'll be calm at dinner." Connor shoved another cookie in his mouth.

"They're Wolfram and Hart cookies. They probably made those chocolate chips out of some kind of demon poop to give them a mystical drug quality so they mellow you out and want more."

Connor spit the cookie out into a throw up bag. "I'm gonna wait for supper."

"Thank you."


	73. Chapter 73

Chapter 73

Giles met them at the runway. Buffy ran up to him and hugged him. "You look beautiful." Giles said.

"Liar." Buffy said.

"No. You do. A little stressed, but always beautiful." Giles looked at Angel. "Hello."

Angel nodded. "Giles."

"How are you?"

"Solid."

"I see that. Connor! You're looking better than ever."

"Thank you." Connor said, shaking Giles' hand.

"I have some papers I'd like you to read. They're about that prophecy you were inquiring about."

"The one about me?" Giles nodded. "Anything helpful?"

"Could be. You'll have to get Wesley to translate the rest. He has much better resources at his disposal than I do."

"I'll talk to him about that." Buffy said. "He can make copies of any books you want and send them to you."

"That would be wonderful." Giles looked back at a van with guards in it and nodded for them to go to the plane.

"Who are they?"

"Guards to take Dana from…."

"No. No guards."

"Buffy, I really must protest. She's…."

"Perfectly fine with me."

"Are you sure?"

"More than."

Giles waved away the guards. "Will she be riding in the limo with us, then?"

"Probably."

"We'll take her by the hospital then. Is that all right?"

"The hospital?"

"We need to asses her mental stability before we decide what to do with her. Dana is a special case."

"I know. Don't let anyone stick her with needles."

"Yes, Fred called us and filled us in on her situation. She also wanted to let you know that Spike's arms were reattached without any complications and he's in recovery."

"Good."

"Angel, are you feeling ok? You look a bit…. Queasy."

"He's not used to flying. He's happy to have his feet on the ground."

"In all the years you've been…. around, you've never flown?"

"I've never been able to." Angel said.

"Well, welcome to the 21st century."

"Thanks."

"What's say you collect Dana and we'll be off?"

"He's only back in England a few months and he's already back to speaking their language." Buffy said, heading back into the plane.

* * *

Buffy, Giles, Connor, and Angel sat around Giles' parlor drinking coffee. They had finished their meal and moved into the parlor to talk. Angel had made a comment about the coffee in the parlor after dinner being very old fashioned and that had sent Giles off talking about how those customs should be brought back because the world was no longer civilized. While Angel and Giles discussed eighteenth century customs and manners, Buffy and Connor had tried to act interested, but were failing miserably.

"The house was fashioned after an English estate house from the early nineteenth century." Giles said.

"I could tell it was built in the old style when we drove up. Is anything in the room from that period?"

"A few pieces. That grandfather clock in the corner is actually from 1801."

"Still works?"

"As if it had just been built. The chimes are so loud, they've woken me up in the middle of the night on occasion."

Angel laughed. "They were always loud. We had a clock in my estate that was right under my room and every time it would chime an hour, I'd get startled awake."

"What happened to it?"

"I came home drunk one night and tried to sleep. After the second time it woke me up, I went downstairs and smashed it."

Giles laughed. "I know there's a way to make it chime softer, but I haven't figured it out."

"I'm sure we could send someone out to figure it out for you."

"That would be nice."

"Right, Buffy?" Angel asked Buffy.

"Hmm?" Buffy asked.

"I think we lost her." Giles laughed.

"Well, considering I have no clue what you two have been talking about…." She sighed and shook her head. "I'm sorry. I'm a little jet lagged I guess."

"It's quite all right. It must've been a long flight."

"No. Only a couple of hours."

"A couple of…. You came from Los Angeles."

Buffy shrugged. "We have really good jets."

"Apparently."

Buffy's phone rang and she pulled it from her pocket. "Buffy Summers. What's up Harmony? Really? Then I guess I need to get back. Ok. No. I'll take care of it. We'll be back by tonight. Your night. I know it's night here! That's why I said…. Harmony, just let them know Angel and I'll be there." Buffy hung up. "I hate to eat and run, but a client we were meeting with tomorrow night rescheduled to tonight."

"Oh."

Buffy stood up. "I'm sorry."

"No, business as usual. Destroying one evil entity at a time is the only way to get it done."

"Well, he's not being so much destroyed as he is…."Buffy thought for a moment. "Emancipated. It's a two hundred year old Glarkuk who feels that his parents are holding him back, so he's…. divorcing them before he turns two hundred and fifty and using the money he'll get from his parents to start his own German restaurant." Buffy looked at Angel. "Which reminds me that we have that dinner meeting Thursday night we can't miss."

"I completely forgot about that." Angel said.

"That's why we have Harmony." Buffy turned back to Giles. "I'll have to take the grand tour of the compound some other time."

"Certainly. Being the C.E.O. of such a corporation as Wolfram and Hart takes its toll on your personal life."

"Yeah. It sure does. Dana…."

"Will be perfectly taken care of. We'll keep you posted on her condition and how she's doing here."

"Thank you. And next time, please don't send Andrew. Watcher-In-Training or not, he's just…. Really annoying."

"Duly noted."

"Thanks." Buffy hugged Giles and walked out to the waiting limo.

* * *

Buffy stood in her office with Angel and stared out at the city. Things were moving too slowly for their liking. The Black Thorn had sent a devil named Izzy to talk to Buffy and Angel when they had heard they were interested. That's what their dinner meeting had been about. They couldn't tell Giles about it though. They couldn't tell anybody about it.

"Buffy." Angel said. Buffy turned to look at him and he pointed behind her. She turned to see Eve stepping out of her personal elevator.

Eve motioned to the elevator as its doors closed behind her. "You weren't home upstairs. Didn't think you'd mind me using your private elevator."

"Eve, I mind you breathing." Buffy snapped. "Get out."

"Yeah, sure. Except I'm here to convey the Partners' concern. A little issue of you letting a client skip out of our dimension. Dead nuns we can deal with, but the firm's out 10 million in bail costs."

"I thought I told security not to let you in this building."

"Sweetie, I'm liaison to the Senior Partners. You honestly think you have any control over my comings and goings?" Eve shook her head. "We'll talk business later. I'll let you two brood some more."

"And I'll let you walk out of here with your head still attached to your body." Buffy followed Eve out and looked at Harmony. "Harmony, I want security keeping tabs on Eve while she's in the building."

"Got it, bossy." Harmony said.

Izzy, a red-skinned demon with black hair, horns and a goatee walked up to Buffy wearing a suit and holding a briefcase. "I gotta go. Everything's in place. They'll draw up the paperwork."

"Good. Great."

Izzy walked toward the elevator, but turned back as Angel joined Buffy at the door. "Angel…. Racquetball Thursday?"

"Ok, then." Angel said.

Spike strolled up to Buffy and Angel. "Now you're doing business with devils too?" He shook his head. "And here I thought you had a change of heart."

"What are you talking about?" Buffy asked.

"You, Dana…. Us talking."

"No. I'm here. I'm staying here."

Spike shook his head. "Well, I'm off."

"Where are you going?" Angel asked.

"Got a mission now."

"A mission?"

"Source of mine says there's some nasty out there I've got to get rid of if I want to start working on that redemption thing."

"A source?" Buffy asked.

"I've got a guy. Has an in with the Powers that whatsit. Gets these visions. I think it has something to do with all his mystical type tattoos."

"Visions?" Angel asked.

"Yeah. He came to me about two weeks ago."

"This guy with the visions, did he have a name?"

"Called himself Doyle."

Angel froze, staring incredulously at Spike. Buffy looked at Angel. "Doyle? Why does that sound familiar?"

"Doyle was my friend. He had visions…. He's the one that gave me a reason to fight when I came to LA."

"That Irish guy that was with Cordelia back when?"

Angel nodded and looked down the hallway. He spotted Eve watching them talk and then duck behind the corner, talking on her cell phone. "I don't think it's him, though."

"Why?"

Angel walked down the hall and grabbed Eve. "Can we have a word with you, Eve?"

"Now's really not a good time." Eve said.

"Let's go, Lilah junior." Angel hauled her into Buffy's office and threw Eve into a chair. Buffy called everyone into the office and within minutes, everyone was there. Eve was surrounded by Xander, Connor, Gunn, Angel, Dawn, Lorne, Fred, and Wesley. Spike was sitting near the window. "We've got a problem, Eve." Angel said.

"Damn right, you do." Eve said. "When I tell the partners you assaulted me…."

"A couple weeks ago, a man approached Spike. Told him that the Powers That Be have some missions for him. Spike, braintrust that he is, went along with it."

"Hey." Spike said, insulted.

Eve groaned and stood up. "This is ridiculous."

Buffy tossed Eve back in the chair. "Get out of that chair and I will feed you those Manolo Blahniks."

"Seems to me like you and this guy are working together." Angel said.

"Look, I don't know what you're talking about." Eve said. "But you can't keep me here. I have to leave."

"But the thing that really, really pisses me off is that this guy seems to be going by the name of Doyle."

"Doesn't ring a bell."

"It does to me. I wanna know who has the nerve to be using that name. I'm gonna give you one chance to tell me where he is."

"Look, I don't know what…."

Harmony opened the door and walked in. "Excuse me, Buffy?"

"Not now, Harmony." Buffy said.

"Ok, but do I get the afternoon off, too?"

"What are you talking about?"

"Everybody's gone. The whole building cleared out a few minutes ago."

"What's going on, Eve?" Angel asked.

"I'll be right back." Xander said, leaving the office.

"If he comes back with something I don't fancy hearing, you're going to be in a lot of trouble, Eve." Buffy said.

A few minutes later, Xander came back in. "I checked the server. A message went out. Code 7, right before the building emptied."

"What's a code 7, Eve?"

"I don't know." Eve said. Buffy took a step toward her. "Seriously."

"Ok, this is getting us nowhere." Dawn said. "Guys, torture her."

"What?" Buffy and Angel asked.

"You heard me. Building clearing out means we don't have a lot of time. Have at it."

"We can't just…. torture her." Angel said.

"He's right, Dawn." Fred said. "If we sink to their level…."

From out of nowhere, Harmony tackled Eve, knocking her into Buffy's desk with a primal grunt. "Harmony!" Buffy cried.

Harmony stood up, grabbing Eve by the neck. "Is this ok? I mean, I am evil, technically. I don't mind torturing her for the team."

"Yeah." Angel said.

"Ok." Buffy agreed.

Harmony punched Eve in the face. "Come on, you hussy!" She backhanded Eve across the face. "Spill it!"

"Ok. Ok. Stop!" Eve cried. "It's a fail-safe. They built a fail-safe!" Harmony punched Eve in the face again, harder this time.

"Harmony, she's talking." Buffy said.

"She is? Already? Well, that sucks." Harmony let go of Eve.

"Look, the Senior Partners were never certain they could keep you or Buffy under their thumb, so they created a fail-safe. Housed it in the sub-levels of the building."

"What kind of fail-safe?" Buffy asked.

"I don't know what it is, exactly, but it's huge and alive…. and specifically designed to destroy the both of you."

"How can I stop it?"

"The only way to shut it down's in the chamber itself."

"Well, if that's true, then who activated it in the first place?" Angel asked.

"You were with us when the building cleared out." Gunn added.

"Had to be someone else." Wesley said. "Someone with the ability to slip past Wolfram & Hart security systems."

"Like our faux Doyle." Lorne said.

"Spike, I don't wanna go in blind." Buffy said. "Anything else you know about this guy?"

"Not much." Spike said. "Average size. Dressed like an urban cowboy. Got his hand chopped off once."

"His hand?" Angel asked.

"He's back." Wesley said.

"Who?" Buffy asked.

"Lindsey." Angel said.

"Again, I ask: Who?"

"Lock the building down, make sure he can't get out. Don't trust security systems. He won't show up because of those tattoos of his."

"There could be a way to fix that." Wesley said. "I'll need some help."

"My dance card's free." Lorne said.

Buffy raised her hand and waved it slightly. "Hi. Still in the dark here. Who is Lindsey?"

"A lawyer." Wesley said. "Wolfram & Hart's former golden boy, till he ran off to go find himself."

"Yeah, he should've stayed lost." Angel said.

"Ok then." Buffy said. "Harmony, guard Eve. She moves, eat her."

"Really? Thanks." Harmony turned and looked at Eve like she was lunch.

"Guys, be ready to evacuate. If this thing gets past us, get the hell out of the building. Spike, you're coming with us."


	74. Chapter 74

Chapter 74

Spike, Buffy, and Angel walked down the basement steps into the room guarded by a net of green laser beams. "What the bloody hell is this?" Spike asked.

"Let's find out." Angel walked into the laser net, triggering an alarm. Doors unlocked and people walked out of closets poised for a fight.

"Zombies. Oh, swell." Buffy said. "What is it with this place and friggin zombies!?"

"We don't have time for this."

"Go on. I'll hold them back." Spike said. Angel and Buffy run past the zombies, leaving Spike alone with them. They heard Spike say, "Come on, lads. No need to be gentle. We're all dead men here."

Lindsey walked down the stairs from the control panel and patted the side of the tank as it rose from the floor. "Bye-bye, Angel."

"Hello, Lindsey." Angel said.

Lindsey turned to see Angel and Buffy standing behind him. "And the hero arrives right on schedule. And with a date."

"Yeah. Dinner and a show…. and you're both." Buffy said as Angel walked slowly toward Lindsey with his arms crossed.

"Is this the part where I get all weak in the knees? Promise I'll never do it again?"

"It's a little late for that…. Doyle." Angel said.

"There's always time for redemption. Isn't that your whole thing?"

"You had your chance. I guess some people, they just never change." Angel started to backhand Lindsey, but Lindsey caught his hand mid-thrust and punched Angel in the ribs before throwing him hard across the room. Angel rolled across the floor into the opposite wall.

"I did. You just gonna lay there and bleed?"

"Buffy, get out of here."

"No." Lindsey pointed to the door behind Buffy, causing it to close behind her. "Hang out. This won't take long." He pulled his pocketknife out of his back pocket.

"Angel!" Buffy threw Angel the katana.

Lindsey looked at Angel's sword, then at his own small pocket knife. "Oh. Well, it's not the size that matters, big guy." Suddenly the pocketknife transformed into a hefty sword. "It's how you use it."

"Please!" Buffy said. "Men are so delusional about that."

"Shut it down." Angel snapped at Lindsey.

"Say please." Lindsey said.

"I wasn't talking to you."

"Oh, me. Got it. I'm on it." Buffy ran toward the stairs to the control panel.

"So go and get yourself a little mojo? You should never have come back, Lindsey."

"What can I say? I missed you."

Angel swung first, and he and Lindsey engaged in sword fighting while Buffy examined the control panel. She looked at all the lights and buttons on the control panel. "Ok, let's try the blue one." She pressed a button, but got shocked. "Ow! Ok, not the blue one."

Lindsey pinned Angel against the wall during their sword fight, but Angel pushed him away. Lindsey punched Angel then back-flipped high into the air, landing on his feet on top of the holding tank.

"Little something I picked up in Nepal. You like it?"

"They sell that crap at the airport." Angel leapt into the air nearly effortlessly, landing on the holding tank. He and Lindsey resumed their sword fighting. Lindsey kicked Angel in the knee, causing Angel to scream in pain and recoil.

"You know, all my carefully laid out plans, my designs, when you get right down to it, that was pretty sweet, too, huh? Reason enough for me to come back. You, me…. fight to the death…. yours."

"I've seen your tough act before, squirt. First time we ever met, you put on a show." Angel kicked up and they resumed their sword fight. "Huffing and puffing, telling me I couldn't lay a hand on your scumbag client."

"So you kicked him out a window."

"Good times."

"It was a defining moment." The vents around the holding tank let out steam as the tank started rumbling under their feet. "Kind of like this one."

Buffy looked over toward the tank seeing something scary swimming around in it. "Oh, crap."

Angel punched Lindsey in the face. When Lindsey stood up, his shirt was hanging open, unbuttoned, and Angel noticed Lindsey's tattoos. "That must have stung."

"Worse then when you cut off my hand." Lindsey said.

The sword fighting continued, but Lindsey took Angel's sword. Angel kicked Lindsey's sword into the air and leapt onto the balcony to catch it. Lindsey leapt onto the balcony with the katana to continue the fight. Angel kicked Lindsey in the chest, knocking him back a couple of feet. Lindsey lunged toward Angel, stabbing him through the heart with the sword.

"Angel!" Buffy screamed.

Lindsey kicked Angel off the balcony and across the room. Angel landed on top on the holding tank and Lindsey leapt down to stand over him. "Who is this? Who is this? I came to fight the vampire with a soul. Guess you shouldn't have sold it, huh? Look at you! You and your girlfriend've gone from champions to pathetic corporate puppets in just a few months. You used to have fire in your heart. Now all you got in there is that big honkin' sword. How's that feel, champ?"

"Could be worse…." Angel pulled the sword out of his chest. "If it had been made out of wood, you dumbass." He threw the sword away and stood up. Angel and Lindsey engaged in hand-to-hand combat now, fighting with punches, headbutts and kicks.

Buffy kicked the control panel. "Now you are gonna give it up or…." She pressed buttons on the control panel until the tube emerged. The covering iris widened to reveal a crystal inside, and when Buffy took the crystal out. The system made a powering down noise. "See? Was that was so hard?"

Lindsey saw Buffy with the crystal. "No!"

Buffy grinned widely at Lindsey. The tank sunk back into its underground holding spot, keeping the animal inside it contained for now. Lindsey's power seemed to have faded now as well, since he was only able to throw weak punches at Angel, and Angel didn't even feel the need to fight back.

"All those tattoos, all those new tricks you've learned…." Angel punched Lindsey in the stomach, knocking him to the ground. "Just don't matter." Lindsey tried to stand. "Doesn't matter what you try." Angel punched Lindsey down again. "Doesn't matter where I am or how badass you think you've become." Lindsey got to his knees, but Angel punched him in the face again. "Cause you know what?" Angel grabbed Lindsey by the neck, holding him face-to-face. "I'm Angel." He threw Lindsey across the room and Lindsey landed against the wall. "I beat the bad guys." Lindsey chuckled as he struggled to get to his feet.

Buffy walked over to stand with Angel. "You ok?"

"I've been worse."

"So what now, huh?" Lindsey asked. "Think you got it in you to kill me?"

"I really don't think I have to."

"Lindsey, your epidermis is showing." Buffy said. Lindsey looked at his tattoos as they floated up off of his skin and vanished into thin air, leaving him unmarked and thus unprotected.

"Damn!" There was a flashing light and whirlwind appearing above them.

"I think the senior partners would like a word with you." Buffy said.

Lindsey looked up to see a portal was forming in the air above him. "You don't think they're angry, do you?" Lindsey was sucked into the air into the portal, which closed behind him.

* * *

A pouting Eve walked onto the elevator with the whole gang standing behind her to make sure she left. "It's really been a pleasure. Let's never keep in touch." Buffy said.

Angel smiled. "It's a new game, Eve. If I were you, I'd start thinking strategy."

"And here I am thinking revenge." Eve said.

"And what do you imagine the senior partners are thinking?" The elevator doors closed on Eve.

"Well, I'm thinking seabreeze, compadres." Lorne said. "I gave up a lot of blood for this gig."

"And I didn't get any." Harmony said. "I kept begging Eve to run, but…."

"Well, I've been prancing around thinking I finally had a destiny." Spike said. "Love to drown my embarrassment in a few pints."

"We should all go get a drink. We haven't done that in…. ever." Fred said.

"I personally don't think Connor and Dawn should join us." Buffy said.

"I second that one." Angel said.

"I'm in with the drinking crowd." Gunn said. "Cat and Fiddle?" He asked as he pressed the elevator call button.

"Yeah." Wesley said.

"A drink sounds good." Angel said. He looked at Buffy. "I'll go get our coats." The elevator bell sounded just as Angel walked toward Buffy's office. The elevator doors opened and the others walked onto it, minus Buffy.

"You guys go ahead." She said. "We'll catch up. "

"You sure?" Lorne asked.

"Yeah. I know where the place is at." The elevator doors closed. She headed into her office just as Angel was slipping on his jacket. "So…. you feel good?"

"I do. I just…. I kind of feel bad about it."

Buffy chuckled. "You are a piece of work."

"I just don't feel like I …. I mean, all I did was beat up a tiny Texan. It's not like I helped anyone."

"Sure you did."

"Who?"

"I really do fall for the dumb ones." Buffy walked around in front of Angel and stood between his legs. She wrapped her arms around his neck and leaned into him. "You know how you're always trying to save, oh, every single person in the world? Did it ever occur to you that you were one of them?"

"No, it never did."

"Well, you made the list."

"Lindsey wasted a lot of energy trying to make me doubt myself. I know it's not even close to over, but I do feel like we can do this. Wolfram & Hart, whatever's coming, I feel like we can beat it."

"I know."

"You do?"

"I always did. We'll win this in the end."

Angel held on to Buffy's hips and kissed her gently. "What's with this sudden peppiness?"

Buffy shrugged. "I don't know. I guess…. Well, I was ready to give this all up to tell you the truth."

"Why?"

"It feels like we're doing more bad than good here and the Black Thorn plan is getting…. Well, scary as hell."

"You're not…."

"No! I'm going through with it. We just need a way to prove that we want to be in the Circle without hurting anyone we love." She sighed. "And that's the reason I was ready to pull up stakes and get the hell out of here."

"Cause we might have to actually hurt someone we love?"

"We might have to hurt all of them, actually. If this happens…. We're going to be evil. Or, at least, we'll be pretending to be evil."

"I'm scared that they won't believe you're evil and they'll make me…."

"It won't come to that."

"And if it does?"

Buffy shook her head. "Then it's what will happen. I'm prepared to take it to the extremes to get this done."

"You'll be soulless."

"Willow can put my soul back in. But it won't come to that." Buffy looked at him. "Would you if it did, though?"

"Of course not. I couldn't."

"Even if it meant taking these guys down and saving the world?"

"I couldn't do it. The world be damned! I would never inflict this agony on you."

Buffy smiled. "Good thing it won't come to it, huh?" She grabbed his hand. "Come on, we've got to meet the gang for drinks."

"What about Connor and Dawn?"

"They'll…. Drink a soda." Buffy paused. "I hope they don't touch the peanuts on the bar!"

* * *

A few weeks later, Buffy sat in her office miserably watching Spike and Angel banter about astronauts and cavemen. She found herself suddenly wishing she had that oil and an empty room.

"It's bollocks, Angel! It's your brand of bollocks from the first to last." Spike yelled.

"No, you can't ever see the big picture. You can't see any picture!" Angel yelled back.

"I am talking about something primal. Right? Savagery. Brutal animal instinct."

"And that wins out every time with you. You know, the human race has evolved, Spike!"

"Oh, into a bunch of namby-pamby, self-analyzing wankers who could never hope to…."

"We're bigger. We're smarter. Plus, there's a thing called teamwork, not to mention the superstitious terror of your pure aggressors!"

"You just want it to be the way you want it to be."

"It's not about what I want!"

Buffy perked up brightly when Wesley walked up to the office door. "Sorry. Is this something we should all be discussing?"

"Nope." Buffy said, getting up and leading Wes over to her desk.

"It just…. sounds a little serious."

"It was mostly…. theoretical." Angel said. "We…."

"We were just working out a b…." Spike shook his head. "Look, if cavemen and astronauts got into a fight, who would win?"

"Ah. You've been yelling at each other for 40 minutes about this?" Wesley asked. Angel looked down and Spike stared at Wes, still expecting an answer. "Do the astronauts have weapons?"

"No." Spike and Angel said.

"Oh for the love of sanity!" Buffy cried. Everyone turned to look at her. "Leave!" When no one moved, she pointed at the open door. "Go through it and be far away by the time I get up and shut the door behind you." Wesley and Spike shuffled out and left Angel standing there.

"I…. I don't have an office to go to." Angel said.

"Neither does Spike." She looked at Angel's hurt face. "I can't do it anymore!"

"What?"

"You and Spike and the constant bickering! I can't take it. All day long you two are at each other's throats about the dumbest things. I'm starting to think that Darla and Dru were saints for putting up with you two!"

"Buffy…."

"One of you has got to go somewhere else." Angel looked taken aback. "Oh please, you know it's not going to be you."

"So, what do you plan to do with Spike?"

"I don't plan to do anything right now. Right now I want to be left alone. I've got a mountain of work and no time to finish it."

"I'll leave you alone then." Angel sighed and walked out, closing the door behind him.


	75. Chapter 75

Chapter 75

Spike burst into Buffy's office. "Harmony just pulled me out of a very promising poker game down in Accounts Receivable, so this better be good." He threw himself into the chair facing Buffy's desk that wasn't occupied by Angel and hung his leg over the chair arm. He looked over at Angel and said, "Oh, and, by the way, all the guys down there agree that astronauts don't stand a chance against cavemen, so don't even start."

"Look, I can't do this anymore." Buffy said.

"Finally! I was wondering when you'd come to your senses about this place!"

"No, stupid. You being here. This isn't working out."

"Are you saying we should start seeing other people?"

"We're not seeing each other. What I'm saying is you should go."

Spike looked hurt. "Go?"

"Yes. Go. I can't take the constant bickering between the two of you and it's left me in the middle."

"I don't…. No it hasn't."

"Yes it has! Every time you two get into it, you both come to me and ask me to pick sides. If I don't pick your side, you get mad at me and that vice is versa for you!" She added towards Angel before looking back at Spike. " I can't take it."

"I…. Buffy, I don't…. I don't have anywhere else to go."

"What if you did? Look, Wolfram & Hart has got offices in every major city in the world, and a lot more out of it. I'll give you the resources you need to go anywhere: cars, gadgets, expense accounts. You fight the good fight, but…. in style."

"And, if possible, in Outer Mongolia." Angel muttered.

"Roving agent." Spike said, turning the idea over in his head. "Sort of a 007 without the poncy tux. Go anywhere I want?"

"Anywhere. Everywhere. I don't care." Buffy said.

"I wonder what Faith's up to…."

"Go. Find out. Tell her I said hey."

"All right. Cleveland it is."

Before anyone could say anything else, there was a commotion out in the lobby and Buffy looked out her window to see Wesley holding Dawn as she had a seizure in his arms on the stairs and Fred screaming for medical.

* * *

Dawn was lying in a hospital bed in a private room at Wolfram & Hart. The sheets and blankets were a pale blue, and x-rays were hanging on the wall. Gunn, Spike, Wesley, Xander, Connor, Lorne, Angel, Fred, and Knox were gathered around her bed when she came to. Buffy sat on the bed next to her sister and stroked her hair.

"I haven't had this many big, strapping men at my bedside since…. Well, ever." Dawn said.

"Well, you sure gave us all a big scare, Dawnster." Xander said.

"Yeah, you just need to rest. The lab is doing some blood work." Angel said.

"I'm a mummy, aren't I?" Dawn asked.

"I've fought plenty of mummies, and none of 'em were as pretty as you." Spike said. "Almost none."

"And that Inca Mummy girl has nothing on you." Xander added.

"Now you guys are being too comforting. What's really up?" Dawn asked.

"You're sick, and you're making it worse by worrying." Buffy said.

"We've got that sarcophagus under the scope." Knox said.

Fred nodded. "If it gave you anything, we'll isolate it in a few hours."

"So, you don't know what it is?" Dawn asked.

"Yet." Buffy said.

"Ok."

"We're gonna work this. Shouldn't take long." Angel said.

"Buffy, look, you're man's saving me now."

"That's how it works." Angel said. "Let's get crackin'."

"Ha! 'Get crackin'.'" Dawn laughed. "He's such an old fogy."

Buffy smiled, trying her best to be brave for Dawn. "Just hit that line right there and I'll be here in a heartbeat."

"Assuming I still have one."

"Hey, don't. You'll be fine. It's just like that time you got slashed by Gnarl." Buffy lifted Dawn's arm and held it there. "See, you're pose-able." She got a little choked up and smiled to try and hide the tears.

Dawn squeezed Buffy's hand. "Go on, you've got to do your thing."

Buffy kissed Dawn's forehead. "I won't be far." Buffy got up and walked down the hallway purposefully. Angel and Xander were waiting for her. They all walked down the hallway to meet Lorne, Gunn, Spike, Connor, Fred, Wesley, and Knox.

"How is she handling it?" Angel asked.

"She's smarter than all of us put together." Buffy said, holding back her tears. "She knows it's bad."

"How bad?" Gunn asked. "What do we know?"

"Whatever she's got, it doesn't match up with any of the pathogens in our archives." Fred said. "It's mystical, and it's not ours."

"What about the sarcophagus?" Buffy asked.

"My team is cross-checking the symbols, but it's also new territory for us." Wesley said.

"Buffy, what exactly is happening to her?" Gunn asked. "You talked to the doctor…."

"They have something?" Wesley asked.

Buffy stopped walking and turned to face the others who were gathered around her in a loose circle. "Yeah, I, uh…. Some parasitic agent is working its way through…. I mean, as near as they can tell…." Buffy shook her head and couldn't go any farther. Her throat closed up on a sob.

"Her organs are cooking." Angel said, pulling Buffy to him. "In a day's time, they'll liquefy."

"No." Spike said. "Not this girl. Not this day."

Buffy wiped her eyes and sniffled. "Wes, you gotta tell me what was in that box. I need a name, a history, anything."

"We can't get it open. Not even the lasers…." Knox said.

"Where did it come from?"

"It just showed up. No return address. Didn't recognize the guy who brought it in…. Come to think of it, in the middle of the night."

"This was deliberate." Angel said.

"Senior partners?" Lorne asked.

"Doesn't add up, but I'll hit the White Room." Gunn said. "Talk to the conduit."

"If the senior partners didn't do this, you gotta get them to help us." Buffy said.

"Any way I can."

"What about Doyle…. uh, Lindsey?" Spike asked. "The man likes to play his games."

"I was looking to work the streets, and we've got his address." Angel said. "For all we know, he's probably sitting there laughing. And if there's muscle work to do…."

"Let's make it twice as fast."

"And baby makes three…." Lorne said. "In case anybody feels like singing."

"Good." Buffy said. "This is my little sister. She's the only family I have left. Don't let her…. Please." Everyone headed off in their directions.

* * *

"No sign of Lindsey." Spike said as they wandered around Lindsey's apartment.

"Look for plans." Angel said as he opened the bedroom doors and walked in. "Well, I'll be damned all over again." Eve was sitting in bed, wearing a man's button-up dress shirt. She clutched the sheets to her body to cover herself and recoiled toward the headboard.

"Don't touch me."

"Hiding out from the Senior Partners, Eve?" Angel asked as Buffy, Lorne, and Spike walked in. "How many sick days do you get before they dock you?"

"What do you want?"

Buffy walked over and hauled Eve off the bed, slamming her against the wall. "My little sister is dying. Some mystical parasite. Ring a bell?"

"No, I don't know what you're talking about."

"What about your boyfriend, love?" Spike asked. "You two got some wacky scheme brewing? Sending coffins about?"

"You stay away from me."

Buffy slammed Eve against the wall again. "This happens quickly or very, _very_ slowly. So start talking. A sarcophagus. Older than anything we know."

"Lindsey and I had nothing to do with that." Buffy slammed Eve again. "I'm not lying! I…. I'm not. Have you…. heard from him? About him?"

"Oh, this is truly poetical." Spike groaned.

"You're not saying what we need to hear." Buffy said, slamming Eve against the wall again.

"Why would we do anything to Dawn? Why would we even care about her…."

Buffy punched Eve in the face, knocking her down. "Because I care about her!"

Lorne leaned in close to Eve. "Here's the thing, Eve: You're going to sing for me, and I'm going to read you right now. And here's one more thing: Dawn Summers once told me after a sinful amount of Chinese food, and in lieu of absolutely nothing, 'I think a lot of people would choose to be green. Your shade, if they had the choice.' If I hear one note, one quarter-note, that tells me you had any involvement, the always-gorgeous Slayer here won't even have time to kill you. Oh, and anything by Diana Warren will also result in your death…. well, except 'Rhythm of the Night.'"

"I wanna help." Eve said. "I swear to you. I've got nothing against Dawn."

Buffy backhanded Eve and slammed her against the wall again. "Sing!"

Eve looked around at them and sighed. "Pretty as a picture. She is like a golden ring." She sang.

"She's clean." Lorne said.

"You've been wrong before." Buffy said.

"Yeah, and I might be now, but she reads clean. Her future's not too bright, but…."

"What do you mean?" Eve asked.

"Well, nothin's written in stone, lately, but, uh, if I was about to face your future, I'd make like Carmen Miranda…. and die." Lorne smiled and walked to the door to leave.

"Wait. Please. Are you going to tell the senior partners where I am?"

"Hell of a bargaining chip." Spike said.

"No, they can't help you. I mean it. If you're talking about a sarcophagus that doesn't match anything in our records…. there's nothing that's not in our records except what came before. The old ones."

"The original demons." Angel said. "Before human kind. They were all driven out of this dimension."

"The ones that were still alive. But long before that, they were killing each other all the time, and they don't die the way we do. Wesley may not know it, but his source books can conjure up anything, not just our own stock. Tell him to look for the texts that are forgotten, the oldest scrolls. You need to find the Deeper Well."

* * *

Buffy walked into Wesley's office where everyone was gathered. "How is she?" Angel asked.

"She's…. brave. Braver than I would be." Buffy said. "What have you got for me?"

"It's called Illyria. It was a great monarch and warrior of the demon age murdered by rivals and left adrift in the Deeper Well." Wesley said.

"Which is what?"

"A burial ground…. a resting place of all the remaining old ones."

"This one ain't restin'." Gunn said.

"No. I don't think this is merely an infection. Dawn's skin is…. hardening like a shell. I think she's being hollowed out so this thing can use her to gestate, to claw its way back into the world. That's speculation. Either way, she…. dies."

"Do we have any chance of finding this Deeper Well?" Buffy asked.

"I already have. It's in England, in the Cotswolds. That's the location, to the inch."

"Lorne, tell Harmony to prep the jet. Angel, you, Spike, and Connor can be there in 4 hours."

"It will have a guardian, maybe several."

"Let 'em send an army." Spike said.

"How do we know goin' there's gonna do squat?" Xander asked.

"The Deeper Well is almost like a prison for the dead." Wesley said. "If something gets out, it's written it can be drawn back from the source."

"That's our shot." Angel said.

"We'll keep working here, but, yes, I think it is."

"If nobody thinks it's too ridiculous, I'm going to pray." Lorne said.

"No, it's appreciated." Buffy said. "Time isn't on our side."

"Nobody's on our side." Spike said.

"Come on." Angel said. "Let's save the day." Spike walked out with Angel.

"Angel…." Buffy said.

"I'll save her Buffy. Don't worry." He kissed her and walked out with Connor beside him.

Wesley smiled assuringly at Buffy, but she could read the hopelessness in his eyes. She smiled back and picked up one of his source books. "I'm gonna take this and sit with Dawnie."

"Do you know what you're looking for?" Wesley asked.

"Anyway to save my sister." Buffy walked out and headed back to Dawn's room. Her sister wasn't there and no one had seen where she had gone to. Buffy found her stumbling around in the lab with Fred trying to convince her to go back to bed.

"Dawnie, you can't be doing this." Fred said, holding Dawn up.

"Please, Fred, I should be doing this. Something could've been missed."

"Whatever it is that's happening, we will stop it, I swear to you."

"I have to work."

"You have to lie down." Buffy said, walking.

"Oh thank god!" Fred said. "I wanted to call you, but…."

"I am not…." Dawn said, cutting Fred off. "I am not the damsel in distress. I am not some case. I have to work this. I've grown up with two very strong women as my role models. I've fought for my life before and I am not going to be cut down by some monster flu. I am better than that! But I wonder…. how very scared I am." Dawn looked away.

Buffy went to her sister, tears falling from her eyes. "I swear on my life, we will stop this, but you have to get back in bed. That's where I need you to fight."

"Like I'm 6 years old?" Dawn collapsed, but Buffy was there to catch her. "This is a house of death." Buffy stood Dawn up and held her. Dawn looked over her sister's shoulder to the source book she brought with her. "That can call up any book you need?"

Buffy looked at it too. "Every one, Wesley says."

"Then bring it. Take me home."

Buffy looked at Fred pleadingly. "I'll take care of everything here." Fred said. "Don't you worry."

"If Angel calls…. I've got my cell." Buffy said, helping Dawn out of the lab.


	76. Chapter 76

Chapter 76

Buffy took Dawn to the house they had grown up in. It was still for sale and the company that was trying to sell it had furnished it for decoration to make customers want to buy it. Buffy had gotten Gunn to rent it out for the week when Dawn had said she wanted to go home.

Now, Buffy paged through a book while sitting beside Dawn's bed in Dawn's old room in the fading sunlight. When Buffy had gotten her to the bed, Dawn had drifted off to sleep. Now she stirred awake and looked over at Buffy.

"Hey." She said weakly.

"You fell asleep, sweetie." Buffy said. "Was I making too much noise?"

"Not enough. I need noise to keep me here. Is it today? I mean…."

"You only slept for an hour."

"That's an hour I don't get now."

"Angel, Connor, and Spike are on their way to finding your cure, and I would hate to be the thing that gets in their way."

"Mr. Gordo!" Dawn suddenly cried out.

"What about him?"

"I…. I have to find him. He's Buffy's…. He's Buffy's…. Oh, I don't remember." Dawn started to cry. Buffy sat beside her and held her while she sobbed. "Oh, isn't it terrible? At a time like this, I'm worried about how crappy I look."

"You're the most beautiful thing I've ever seen."

"Mom used to say that no matter what we looked like, didn't she?" Buffy nodded. "You're just like her." Buffy felt the tears starting to choke her up again. Dawn seemed to sense it and she leaned on her older sister's shoulder. "Read to me."

"What do you want me to read?"

"Can that be any book in the world?"

"Name one."

"Read the one mom used to read me when I was little."

"A Little Princess?" Dawn nodded. Buffy grabbed the book and laid back on the headboard. Dawn curled up on Buffy's shoulder, wrapped safely in Buffy's arm. "She was such a little girl that one did not expect to see such a look on her small face." Buffy read. "It would have been an old look for a child of twelve, and Sara Crewe was only seven. The fact was, however, that she was always dreaming and thinking odd things and could not herself remember any time when she had not been thinking things about grown-up people and the world they belonged to. She felt as if she had lived a long, long time."

* * *

Spike and Angel were sitting on either side of the aisle of a private jet and Connor sat in front of Angel. Angel was gripping the armrests again, still not used to flying, and Spike was obsessively fingering his seatbelt.

"I've never flown before." Spike said.

"I've been in this thing once." Angel said.

"Back to the mother country. Hey, after we save Dawn, we should send this thing back for her and Buffy and we can all hit the West End, take in a show."

"I've never seen Les Mis."

"Trust me, half way through the first act, you'll be drinking humans again."

"Can't lose her, Spike."

"We won't."

Connor reached forward and squeezed his dad's hand. Angel looked at him and smiled. "She'll be ok." Connor said. "We'll save her."

"I can't imagine a world without Little Bits." Spike said. "She's always been there. She's like her sister, always fighting. I remember at Buffy's parent-teacher night thing I crashed way back when, she was throwing everything she could pick up at me. Got me on the head pretty good a couple of times."

Angel laughed. "Whenever Dawn got out of school, she used to come visit me at the mansion and wait for Buffy there. Buffy got on to her every time, but Dawn still did it. She's stubborn like that."

"She's just like her sister whether either of them want to admit it or not."

"She is, isn't she?"

"It's amazing how much she's grown up in the last few years, eh?"

"It sure is." Angel said, looking out the window with a sigh.

* * *

Buffy was lying against the headboard with her arm wrapped protectively around Dawn who was curled up at her side. "Would you read to me some more?" Dawn asked.

"Of course." Buffy said.

"The light…. hurts my eyes, but I don't want you to turn it off. But it hurts my eyes. Everything's so bright and hollow. Buffy?"

"Yeah?"

"Cave men win. Of course the cave men win."

"You get to tell Angel that." Buffy laughed to cover the sob that threatened to fly from her throat.

Dawn smiled slightly, but it quickly turned into a seizure. Buffy jumped up and frantically unwrapped a pre-packaged hypodermic syringe that Fred had sent with them in case this happened. Buffy sat beside a writhing, convulsing Dawn and tried to inject her, but the needle couldn't penetrate her skin.

"Oh, God! I was so bad!" Dawn cried. "I'm being punished. I don't know what's wrong. Sorry. I'm sorry. Make it stop!" Buffy, watching her sister writhe in pain, held her hand to her mouth as her inability to help her sister brought her to tears. She collapsed to the floor and curled into a little ball, holding her knees under her chin, and cried. She suddenly wished she hadn't sent Angel to England. She wanted him here. She needed him here.

After what seemed like an eternity, Dawn quieted down and laid still on the bed. She was still weak and getting weaker. Buffy scooted to sit next to the bed and she reached across the bed to grasp Dawn's hand.

"Why did we go there?" Dawn asked. "Why did we think we could beat it? It's evil, Buffy. It's bigger than anything."

"I don't believe that." Buffy said.

"Uhhh!" Dawn pointed at Buffy. "I'm with her! She won't leave me now. We're so close."

"I will never leave you, Dawn."

"Hmph. Oh. That was bad, but it's better now. You won't leave me?"

"I won't."

"My sister. Our boys. I walk with heroes. Think about that."

Buffy was crying and desperately trying to hold herself together. "You are one, Dawnie."

"Superhero. And this is my power: to not let them take me. Not me."

"That's right."

Buffy laid her head down on the bed and looked up at her little sister. She felt so helpless. She felt like a failure. She was supposed to take care of Dawn and protect her, but now her sister was slipping away and Buffy couldn't save her. Dawn squeezed Buffy's hand as tightly as she could and Buffy lifted her head to look at Dawn. "You're my sister."

"Yeah. You're my sister, no matter what."

"The monks…. They didn't see this coming…."

"Dawnie…."

"I'm so sorry I wasn't a better sister to you."

"No, no, no."

Dawn choked on her coughs. "I need you to…. Buffy, I'm not scared. Tell them that it was quick. That I wasn't scared." Dawn started convulsing and Buffy jumped up, grabbing her.

"You have to fight, Dawn. You don't have to talk, just concentrate on fighting. Please, just hold on."

"I'm not scared. I'm not scared. I'm not scared. Please, Buffy, why can't I stay?" Dawn went still as Buffy held her in her arms.

"Dawn? Dawnie? Please…." Buffy hugged her sister tightly. "Please! No! Dawnie, wake up!" Buffy shook her sister. "Dawn! Don't give up. Fight! Please!"

Dawn started twitching suddenly and kicked her body away from Buffy so hard that it sent Buffy across the room and pushed Dawn to the floor. On the floor, Dawn's body convulsed as Buffy watched in horror from across the room. Finally, Dawn stood, but her hair, eyes, and the edges of her face were blue. Dawn, looking quite possessed, looked down at her arm and hand to examine it, flexing her fingers.

"This will do." She said in a voice deeper than Dawn's.

Buffy stood up. "Dawn?" Illyria walked past Buffy toward the mirror, ignoring her. "Illyria?"

Illyria turned away from the mirror to face Buffy. "My name…. You would presume to speak my name…. Because I have returned in the body of the human, you think you can speak to me. It's disgusting."

"Who is Dawn Summers?"

"I thought the humans would have long died out by now. Instead, you've grown bold."

"So you don't know who Dawn is."

"Nor care. Bleat at me no longer. We're done." Illyria rolled her eyes and turned to walk away.

"Yeah," Buffy bent to pick up a battle-axe. "We are." She swung it at Illyria's neck, but the blade shattered with a loud, metallic clank when it contacted with Illyria's skin and she didn't even flinch.

"Oh…. now I remember. Dawn Summers is the shell I'm in."

"She's the woman you killed." Buffy growled.

"This is grief. I'm watching human grief. It's like offal in my mouth."

"If you stay here, you'll taste it every day, every second. Humans rule the Earth." Illyria moved quickly to the window, concerned. "Go back. Get out of my sister."

"You seek to save what's rotted through. This carcass is bound to me. I could not change that if I cared to, but you have opened my eyes to truth. If the world is truly overrun by humans…." Illyria put her hand on Buffy's chest and effortlessly thrust her across the room into a wall. "Then I have work to do." Illyria left the house.

Buffy curled up on the floor and sobbed. Her little sister was dead. As if that thought snapped her out of it, Buffy stood and glared at the door Illyria walked out of. She was all Slayer now. Illyria would die and Buffy would find a way to get Dawn back.

* * *

A bloody, beaten Knox sat slumped in an office chair. His hands were bound at the wrists with duct tape. "Gonna torture him?" Harmony asked.

"Thinking about it." Gunn said.

"Can I help? I'm really good at it."

"Thanks, but this is kind of personal." Xander said.

"Why do you think I want to help? Because I've got some kind of blood lust…. well, ok, that, too, but Dawn's my friend. Even though I kidnapped her and held her for ransom once. And if Poindexter here had anything to do with hurting her, then I'm in for a big fat pound of flesh."

"Angel?" Buffy asked from the doorway. Everyone turned to look at her. She was sullen and her eyes were red, but hard as rock.

"He's on his way back." Xander said. "How's Dawn?"

Buffy ignored him. "You tied Knox up?"

"We're gonna torture him." Harmony said gleefully.

"Good. Why?"

"He knows what's happening." Gunn said. "Been hiding it the whole time. I just need a few minutes alone."

Buffy's eyes hardened. "He's involved in this?"

"Pretty sure." Xander said.

"Why didn't you tell me?!"

"Yeah, buddy. Why didn't you?" Knox said to Gunn.

"Shut up." Gunn snapped.

"I thought we wanted him to talk." Harmony said.

"I can handle this. Whatever he knows…."

"Doesn't matter anymore. Dawn's gone." Buffy said.

Knox giggled. "I'm sorry. It's just…. um, it's not what you think. It…. it's…. it's beautiful. Tell them. Tell them what happened."

"The infection…. Illyria…. it consumed her. Took over her body."

"Then it's still Dawn, right?" Xander asked. "This thing is just controlling…."

"She's gone."

"You don't know that." Gunn said.

"Wait. I'm confused." Harmony said. "It looks like Dawn, but it's not?"

"She's so much more than that now." Knox said. "Beyond flesh. Beyond perfection. I loved Dawn. I really did. But she was more than just human. She was more than Slayer or immortal…. She was the Key. That's why I chose her. She's the only one that was worthy."

Buffy suddenly lost it. She started punching Knox until his face was a bloody pulp. Xander, Harmony, and Gunn pulled her off him. "Buffy, don't." Gunn said. "We need him. I know how you feel…."

"Do you?" Buffy cried. "You didn't feel her die. She was my little sister and she was shaking with pain and she was terrified and she was so brave. And she was better than anyone I've known, and she was better than me…. And she's gone. My baby sister is gone!"

Angel was suddenly there, holding Buffy tightly as she sobbed. "I know, baby. Now let's get her back."

"We can't." Buffy clung to Angel's jacket lapels, burying her face in his chest.

Angel led Buffy into her office and shut the door. He held her tightly in his arms, stroking her hair and back until she stopped sobbing. "We'll get her back, I swear to you, we will."

There was a knock on the door and Wesley poked his head in. Angel motioned him in and he opened the door. Gunn, Xander, Connor, Spike, Fred, and Lorne trailed in behind him.

"So that's it? England was a bust?" Gunn asked.

"I filled them in." Spike said.

"Not entirely." Angel said. "We found out where the sarcophagus came from. There were thousands of them."

"Minus one."

"What about this Drogyn guy?" Xander asked. "He wouldn't help?"

"Couldn't." Angel said. "We were too late."

"I should've seen it." Lorne said. "Knox. He sang for me and I should've seen this."

"It's not your fault." Buffy said, wiping the tears away from her face.

"If I had concentrated harder, read him better, maybe Dawn…."

"Look, there's a lot we might have done, all right?" Angel said. "Starting with never coming to Wolfram & Hart in the first place. We can beat ourselves up over it later, but right now…."

"I'm sorry, Angelcakes. I, um…. I got nothing. I'm sorry." Lorne walked out.

"Lorne…."

"No, let him go." Spike said. "If he's doubting himself, he won't be any good to us."

"Lorne's right. We should have seen this coming." Connor said.

"Ah, it wouldn't have made a difference." Angel said. "Drogyn said the sarcophagus was preordained to be released. Nothing could have stopped it from arriving."

"That's not completely true." Gunn said. "I played a round of piñata with lab boy while you were gone. The sarcophagus was stuck in customs and it should have stayed there, but someone got it out."

"Who?" Buffy asked.

"I'm working on it."

"Oh, you're working on it? Good for you, Gunn."

"Baby…. I know you're hurting, but keep your footing. I need you sharp, all of you, for Dawn's sake." Angel said.

"There is no Dawn anymore."

"You don't know that." Gunn said.

"I watched it gut her from the inside out. Everything she was is gone. There is nothing left but a shell."

"Then we'll figure out a way to fill it back up." Angel said.

"The thing only took over her body. Just a tip of the theological." Spike said.

"It's the soul that matters."

"Trust us. We're kind of experts."

"What about her…." Xander paused, choking on his own grief for a moment. "If her organs have been liquefied…."

"Flash fried in a pillar of fire saving the world. I got better." Angel said.

"You really believe there's a chance of bringing her back?" Buffy asked desperately.

"Dawn's soul is out there somewhere. We'll find it, and we'll put it back where it belongs. Then we'll make every son of a bitch who had a hand in this pay. We all on the same page?"

"Where do we start?" Gunn asked.

"We need the big guns."

"Willow?" Buffy asked.

"Won't be the first time she rattled the dead, right?" Spike said pointedly to Buffy.

Buffy nodded. "Why didn't I think of that!? Last time I heard she was in South America."

"Then we'll track her down and get her here as soon as we can." Angel said. "In the meantime, we need to contain Illyria. Buffy, you're the only one who had contact. Any idea where she's headed?"

Buffy shook her head. "She's strong. She took me out with barely a flick of her wrist."

"Ok, we'll find her." Angel kissed Buffy's forehead.


	77. Chapter 77

Chapter 77

Angel was pacing, talking on the cordless phone. "Himalayas? I thought she was in South America."

"We've got a branch in Tibet? How about a couple of sherpas?" Buffy asked hopefully.

"All right, look…. What do you mean she's not on this plane? You just said…. Astral projection? Well, is there any way to get her astral over to L.A.? Giles, this is Dawn we're talking about!"

"Never a witch around when you need one." Wesley said to Gunn.

"It'll work out. It has to." Gunn said. Buffy shook her head and looked at Gunn. He smiled. "Hey, killer, how're you holding up?"

"I've been unfair…. I shouldn't be taking it out on you. I know you've done everything you can. I'm sorry."

"So am I."

"Yeah," Angel said. "There's got to be some way…. What about the coven? Well, then what the hell are we paying you people for!?" Angel lost his temper and flung the phone into the wall, shattering it. "We're on our own!"

"Good, 'cause I was wondering." Spike said.

"What's wrong?" Buffy asked. "Where's Willow?"

"She's astral projecting in the Himalayas and Giles can't reach her. He said the coven is with her." Angel said.

"There's got to be some way to get her! I won't accept that!"

"Buffy…."

"No! We have branches all over this stupid world, so why can't one of them send operatives out to find her!? Wesley…."

"I'll make a call." Wesley said, starting to head out.

"We'll find Illyria and…."

"Smack her a good one for me." Harmony said, walking in the room and pointing to her bruised cheek. "So gonna leave a mark."

* * *

"I'm ready to begin." Illyria said. She was standing in the lab with Knox covered in a red leather-like bodysuit.

Buffy walked into the lab, followed by Spike, Connor, Xander, Wesley, Gunn, and some guards armed with machine guns. "Or we could just hang out." She said.

"So, you are a warrior. I was beginning to wonder if this world was void of your kind."

"Plenty of us to go 'round, luv." Spike said.

"Two half-breeds, a tiny woman, and a band of primitives. Is this all that challenges me now?"

"That, and a whole lot of bullets." Xander said. The guards cocked their machine guns and pointed them at Illyria.

"Enough to temporarily incapacitate even you." Wesley said.

"We know what you are, Illyria." Angel said. "We've seen the rest of your kind. All the old ones, sealed away forever, like you were. Where you should've stayed. You've taken something of ours, something very precious. Stand down and I promise we won't destroy you taking it back. Your choice."

"I decline." Illyria grabbed Angel and threw him through the window.

"Angel!" Buffy screamed.

"Take her!" Xander ordered.

With a wave of her hand, Illyria created a wave of some sort that, when it reached the others, slowed their movements down to super-slow-motion. As Wes, Connor, Buffy, Gunn, Xander, and Spike tried to approach her, they were virtually frozen in their anger. Illyria, able to move in real-time, grabbed Knox by the lapels and walked out of the lab past the others without their notice, accidentally knocking beakers and vials to the ground, shattering them on her way out.

* * *

The bell dinged and a bloodied Angel got off the elevator, accompanied by Harmony. "Sorry, Angel. Maybe if I stopped her back in Gunn's office…." Harmony said.

Angel held his arms crossed in front of his chest. "Did she toss you out a window?"

"No."

"Then you're one up on me." Angel saw Buffy, Wesley, Fred, and Spike walking down the steps. "Hey, what do you got?"

"Smoke and mirrors." Spike said.

"No trace of either of them." Wesley said.

Despite the pain in his body, Angel reached out and held Buffy to him. Xander walked in from his office to join the others. "I put tactical on Code Black. If Illyria shows up again…."

"She won't. She got what she came for." Buffy said.

"Knox?" Harmony asked.

"And some spiffy new threads." Spike said.

"Any idea how she got past you?" Angel asked.

"One second she was standing there, the next, poof." Xander said.

"She's a teleporter?"

"I don't think so. No characteristic displacement of the atmosphere around her." Wesley said.

"I fancied I saw a blur just before she went Houdini." Spike said.

"Yeah, like she was pulling a Barry Allen." Everyone looked at Gunn, not recognizing the name. "Jay Garrick? Wally…. Like she was moving really fast."

"Or we were moving very slow." Buffy said.

"Great. She's super strong and she can alter time." Angel said.

"Well, that's not fair." Harmony said.

"It makes it complicated, but doesn't change what we need to do. Fred, take the lab apart. Check Knox's files, the sarcophagus, anything that can help us get Dawn back."

"Come on. I got a degree in tearing things up." Harmony said. She went upstairs with Wesley and Fred.

"Never a truer word." Spike said.

"I got a few contacts I could try, see if anything shakes loose." Gunn said, walking away from Buffy, Angel, and Spike.

"Great. Do it." Angel said. He looked at Spike. "See if we can track her down, figure out where she's headed now."

"Any thoughts on how we're supposed to track Dawn or Illyria or whatever the hell that thing was?" Spike asked.

"We just do it, that's all." Angel grabbed a weapon off the wall.

Spike glanced at Buffy as she stared out the window and then lowered his voice to talk to Angel. "Back in the lab, she was standing right there in front of me, but there was no scent. Nothing. It's like she wasn't even there."

"I know."

"Look…. I want Dawn back as much as any of us…. but seeing her there, like that…. maybe she really is…."

"No. We lost Cordelia because some thing violated her. It crawled inside and used her up. No way in hell am I letting that happen again. Not to someone I promised to keep safe."

"I, uh…. I'll be back." Buffy said, walking out of the room before anybody could say anything. She roamed the hallways and found herself walking through medical. It was where Dawn should've been. They could've helped her. With a sigh, she headed down the hallway and stopped when she heard a man say, "The sarcophagus contains the essence of an old one, a race of ancient demons dead and buried for millions of years in a place called the Deeper Well."

Buffy moved towards a doorway and heard Gunn say, "Not hearing anything I don't already know."

"Why do you think I'm telling you?"

"How do we bring Dawn back? How?!"

"You can't."

"I don't believe that. You know a way. You have to."

"Get the sarcophagus released from customs in exchange for making your cerebral alterations permanent. That was the bargain and the extent of my involvement."

Buffy gasped and felt her body start to tremble with anger. "Then take it back." Gunn said. "Everything you put in my head, the law, all the knowledge, take it back. Everything. Take more, leave me a vegetable. I don't care. Just bring her back. Please…. bring her back."

"There's nothing left to bring back. The young Miss Summers' soul was consumed by the fires of resurrection. Everything she was is gone. Forever. For better or worse, you made a deal, Mr. Gunn. I suggest you learn to live with it."

The doctor started to walk away, when he was knocked out cold by a very pissed off Slayer's fist. "Is there something you'd like to tell me, Gunn?"

"Yeah, one of my sources…."

"Don't. What he said…. about Dawn…. about her soul, is it true?" Gunn looked down. "What did you do?"

"It was just a piece of paper. I was losing it. Everything they put in my head, everything that made me different. Special. And he could fix it. Make it permanent. So I signed a piece of paper. It was a custom's release form. I didn't think anyone would get hurt."

"Nothing from Wolfram & Hart is ever free. You knew that."

"I couldn't go back…. to being just the muscle. I…. I didn't think it would be one of us. I didn't think it would be little Dawn."

Tears streamed down Buffy's face. "I understand not wanting to go back, not wanting to be who we were. I understand it. And I can forgive it. But you knew what was happening to her. You knew who was responsible and you didn't say anything. You let her die." With lightening speed, Buffy picked up a sharp surgical knife from the table and thrust it into Gunn's gut. "I'm a hell of a lot less forgiving about that." Gunn coughed up blood and looked up at Buffy who was looking him straight in the eyes.

* * *

"What the hell did you do?" Angel asked Buffy. She sat at her desk calmly working on some contracts.

"What I had to." Buffy said.

"I don't remember seeing 'Stab Gunn' on the agenda this morning."

"I avoided the major organs. He'll probably live."

"Is that supposed to make it all right?"

Buffy exploded, throwing a paperweight at Angel's head. "Nothing is all right! Nothing will ever be all right."

Angel dodged the paperweight and it shattered against the opposite wall. Angel ignored it and walked over to Buffy. "We'll get her back."

"No, we won't. Dawn's soul…." Buffy broke down into tears. "Her soul was destroyed resurrecting Illyria."

Angel kneeled down and held her in his arms. "Are you sure?" Buffy nodded. "What about Gunn?"

"He let the sarcophagus into Wolfram & Hart. What he knew, when he knew it, it doesn't change what happened! He let her die."

"So did I." Buffy looked at Angel hard, but he didn't let her go. "At the well in England, there was a way to save Dawn, but only if thousands of others died in her place." Buffy shoved Angel away from her and backed away to stand at the window, staring at Angel in disbelief. "As much as I love Dawn, I couldn't let that happen. Look, I need you to bury it, Buffy. Everything you're feeling, everyone you wanna hurt. I need you to put it aside and focus on what has to be done."

"She was my sister! She was my…. And you're asking me to bury my feelings!? What is wrong with you!?" Angel went to hold her, but she yanked away, side-stepping him. "Don't touch me!"

"Buffy…."

"Dawn is gone! You…. You betrayed me! You let Dawn…. You let her go!"

"I had no choice."

"I don't give a damn about those people out there."

"Buffy, you don't mean that." She started to sob and her knees gave out on her. Angel went to her and held her to him. She punched at his chest, but she didn't have the strength to put any force behind it. She was just a grieving woman whose little sister had just died. "We have to focus on Illyria. We need to stop her before…."

"She unleashes hell on Earth?" Spike asked, appearing at the doorway wiping his bloody hands on a towel.

"What'd you get out of the doctor?"

"Screams. Various fluids. And a name: Vahla ha'nesh."

"Vahla ha'nesh. What does that mean?"

* * *

Wesley put a book on the table and opened it to a page with a drawing of a temple with a statue inside. The statue was enormous, as tall as the temple's ceiling. It had four arms, and its body was composed of snake-like creatures coiled around a torso, having dozens of snake-tails where feet should be. The statue was holding two bladed weapons. In the background, thousands of dots filled the temple floor.

"It's her temple." Wesley said. "This is where she was supposed to be resurrected."

"That's Illyria." Angel said.

"In its native form."

Spike pointed to the thousands of dots in the background behind the statue. "What are these smaller bits?"

"Her army of doom."

"There's a shock."

"They were entombed with her." Angel said.

"Waiting for her return."

"To Los Angeles?" Spike asked.

"This is where her temple was millions of years ago, and it's still here."

"Well, you think I would've remembered seeing something like this parked next to The Ralph's." Angel said.

"It's out of phase with our time stream. Only Illyria can open the gateway."

"Any idea how we stop her?" Buffy asked.

* * *

**  
**Illyria stood back as Knox performed a spell using a pile of small bones on the floor in front of him. He watched as the bones disappeared. "Showtime." He said.

"Any seats left?" Spike asked. Knox and Illyria turned quickly to see that Buffy, Angel, Connor, Spike, and Wesley were standing behind them.

"If not, we could just stand in the back." Angel said.

"Guys, you should scan the headlines here. You can't win this." Knox said.

"Then we all die trying." Wesley said.

"Why?" Illyria asked.

"You want the short version?" Angel asked. "Let's start with you walking around looking like the girl you murdered."

"You think your actions will restore her?"

"No."

"Yet you seek a confrontation you cannot win."

"What you're trying to do, raise your army, reclaim your world, innocent people would die. Like Dawn. I can't let that happen."

"You are the protector of these creatures?"

"Yes."

"You'd fight for their lives?"

"Yes."

"Even this one?" Illyria motioned to Knox.

"Is that an issue?" Knox asked. "Is my life in peril, boss? King?"

"You're about as low as it gets, Knox, but you're a part of humanity. That isn't always pretty, but it's a hell of a lot better than what came before. And if it comes down to a choice between you and him, then yes, I would fight for his life, just like any other human's." Buffy rolled her eyes and pulled one of Wesley's handguns from its holster on his hip. "Because that's what people do. That's what makes us…." A gunshot echoed in the room. Knox looked down at his chest to see he was bleeding from a gunshot wound to the heart. He collapsed and everyone looked to see that Buffy was holding the smoking gun. "Were you even listening?"

"I don't care." Buffy said, her eyes cold and hard.

"You've destroyed my Qwa'ha Xahn." Illyria said.

"Yeah, ok, but you gotta admit, he had it coming." Spike said.

"It offends me that you think he matters."

"You're right. He's not the problem. You are." Angel swung his sword at Illyria, but she ducked.

They began to fight, and the others joined in. Buffy held back, waiting for the most opportune moment. Illyria threw Angel across the room and punched Spike in the chest, knocking him into the opposite wall. When Wesley shot at her, she kicked Knox's body at him, knocking him down. Connor started swinging his sword at her, but she outmaneuvered him, ducking his blows and kicking him across the floor. Angel got to his feet and he and Spike came at her next, swinging their swords, but Illyria avoided their swings as well. When they swung at her, she grabbed both blades simultaneously with her bare hands and swung the vampires off the end of the swords, flinging them against opposite walls.

Illyria threw the swords to the ground. "Unimpressive."

As Wesley got to his feet, Illyria waved her hand, creating another slow-motion time wave before he could fire at her again. Spike tried to get to his feet and Angel was in the midst of a roll. Illyria turned to continue with the portal opening, but stopped when she saw Buffy standing in front of her in the flash of an eye.

"What's the rush?" Buffy punched Illyria hard in the face, sending her across the room.

"How?"

Buffy opened her hand to reveal she was holding a crystal in her fist. "It's from your sarcophagus. It's connected to you, I'm connected to it."

"Sneaky."

Illyria swung her leg at Buffy's ankles, knocking her to the ground. Spike swung at her as she got to her feet, but she punched him hard in the gut. Wesley saw that she was about to make a run for it, and shot at her, but her hands were out in front of her, and she was opening the portal. As Illyria made a dash for the portal, Buffy dove into it after her, managing to get through just as it closed.

Buffy landed on the floor of the temple on her belly. Pained, she got to her feet as Illyria walked down the steps commandingly, heading for the nave of the temple. "You're too late. My army will rise. This world will be mine once again." She arrived at the nave of the temple, only to see her statue had been toppled and her army was dead. "No." Illyria looked around the temple. The columns were broken. The place was silent as a grave. Her temple was in complete ruin. "It can't be. It's gone." She fell to her knees, runs her hands through the sand. "My world is gone."

Buffy walked up to her. "Now you know how I feel."

Illyria looked up at Buffy, wide-eyed. A low sound reverberated nearby, and Buffy turned to see a portal had opened up behind her. She looked back at where Illyria was kneeling and saw she was gone. Buffy looked at the toppled statue and walked out of the portal.

* * *

Angel and Spike were sitting and talking, while Buffy stared into nothingness. "No army of doom scorching the earth. Huzzah for our side." Spike said.

"We need to close the gateway to Illyria's temple." Angel said. "Permanently. I don't want any more surprises."

"What about the leather queen?"

"She still has enough juice to be a threat. We regroup and we take care of it. Buffy?"

"It's all we can do." Buffy said distantly.

"Long day. That offer still good? Send me out there, roving agent and all?"

"Uh huh."

"Great. Maybe we should send Gunn…. before our Slayer has another poke."

"You're not leaving?" Angel asked.

"This is what she would have wanted. It's what I want. I don't really like you. Suppose I never will. But I love Buffy and this is important, what's happening here. Dawn gave her life for it. The least I can do is give what's left of mine. The fight's comin', Angel. We both feel it…. and it's gonna be a hell of a lot bigger than Illyria. Things are gonna get ugly. That's where I live."

"I'll be…." Buffy didn't finish the sentence, she just got up and walked away.

* * *

Buffy was packing Dawn's personal effects in a box with bubble-wrap. She took a commemorative plate off the wall where it hung next to Dawn's Dingoes Ate My Baby poster.

"You grieve still…. for a single life." Illyria said behind Buffy.

Without turning to look at her, Buffy shut her eyes tight and spoke through gritted teeth. "Why are you here?"

"I…. I'm uncertain. This place…. was part of the shell."

"Don't call her a shell!" Buffy turned and glared at Illyria. "The girl you killed had a name."

"This is important to you. Things have names. The shell…. Dawn Summers…. She can't return to you."

Buffy went back to packing her sister's things. "I know."

"Yet there are fragments. When her brain collapsed, electrical spasms channeled into my function system…. memories." Illyria's voice turned into Dawn's. "Please…. Buffy, why can't I stay?"

"No!" Buffy felt sick to her stomach as the tears fell down her face. "Leave."

"I've nowhere to go. My kingdom is long dead. Long dead. There's so much I don't understand. I've become overwhelmed. I'm unsure of my place."

"Your place is with the rest of your people: Dead and turned to ash!"

"Perhaps…. but I exist here. I must learn to walk in this world. I'll need your help…. Buffy."

"If I helped you find your way…. you would have to learn to change. You can't kill."

"You killed the Qwa'ha Xahn."

Buffy shook her head. "I'm probably the last person in the world to teach you what's right."

"But you will. If I abide, you will help me?"

"I'll get Wesley to help you. I can't stand the sight of you."

"Because I look like her?"

"Yes."

Illyria stood beside Buffy and looked out the window to the lab below where her sarcophagus lay. "We cling to what is gone. Is there anything in this life but grief?"

"There's love. There's hope…. for some. There's hope that you'll find something worth it all…. that your life will lead you to some kind of joy…. that after everything…. you can still be surprised."

"Is that enough? Is that enough to live on?"

"I wouldn't know." Buffy walked out of the office, leaving the packing for another day.


	78. Chapter 78

Chapter 78

Buffy was sitting at the head of the conference table, tapping her fingers impatiently as she stared at the room full of empty chairs. She rolled her head, shuffled and stacked papers, then leaned forward and stared at the speakerphone. She impatiently pressed a button on the speakerphone. "Harmony!"

"I know!" Harmony said back. "I called everyone. They're just…."

"Not here. I can see that. If they were here, I wouldn't be alone. Why am I alone?"

Harmony walked into the conference room. "Well, you can be super grouchy."

"The meeting?"

"Everyone's otherwise occupado, boss. Wesley's stuck baby-sitting miss 'I used to rule the world, bow down before me, minion scum.' Why aren't we killing her, again?"

"Gunn."

"Maybe…. if we had a really big one."

"Where is Gunn?!"

"Oh. The hospital still. You know, from when you…." Harmony mimed stabbing. "And Lorne's kinda M.I.A. since…."

"Yeah." Buffy sighed. "Where's Angel?"

"Here!" Angel said, rushing in. "I'm here."

"Okey-dokey then." Harmony shrugged with false cheer and left.

"Where were you?" Buffy asked Angel.

"Izzy stopped me."

"And?"

Before Angel could answer, Spike walked in carrying a briefcase. "Where's the rest of the crew?"

"Apparently not coming." Buffy said.

"But this is an important meeting."

"At least somebody…."

"My first official parley as a very loosely affiliated member of the…. what are we? Tell me we're not Scoobies."

"We don't have a…."

"A name? Well, that's probably for the best. So what's on the agenda?"

"Uh, I have assignments for people." Buffy looked up as the sound of a pop-top opening came from Spike.

"What? I'm listening." Spike held up a beer can. "With beer."

"Forget it. You know what? This isn't a meeting. This is you being annoying…. Again!" Buffy stood and sighed heavily, looking out the window.

Spike grabbed a paper from the stack where Angel was sitting. "Hey, bullet points. Classy. Why am I always reconnaissance? I should get a decently flash gig like 'save the girl' or 'steal the emerald with the girl.'"

"I should never have let her come here." Buffy said. "Bad things always happen here."

"Exactly. What?"

"Dawn." Angel said quietly.

"Hate to break it to you, pet, but bad things always happen everywhere. Besides, she wanted to be here. It was her choice."

"Was it?"

"Bugger. You're fixing to do something stupid, aren't you?"

"Done it. I came here. I spend every day lying to myself about making the world a better place."

"Welcome to the planet. We all paint on our happy faces every day, when all we really wanted is to pound the neighbor's missus, steal his Ben Franklins, and while we're at it, not think about the third of the world that's starving to death."

"I'm not saying that I can fix everything. I just…. I…. I have to do better. The Senior Partners have a plan."

"Yeah, the prophecy. That ever-lovin' apocalypse you keep going on about."

"Yeah, which apocalypse? The one last year or the year before that? No, the Senior Partners are up to something now, and I'm not waiting for them to spring it on us. We're through operating in the dark."

"Ok, then. Might be easier if we knew anyone who had a direct line to the big guys."

"Actually…." Angel said, causing Buffy and Spike to look at him. "We do."

* * *

Standing side by side by side, Angel, Buffy, and Spike stared at Eve with their arms crossed. "No way." Eve said. "Even if my connection to the Senior Partners wasn't completely severed, I'm done helping you."

"This isn't a negotiation, Eve." Buffy said.

"Ooh, I'm intimidated. What could you possibly do to me? I've been trapped in this house for weeks like a…."

"Rat? Snake? Beady little rat snake?" Spike offered.

"You're not trapped, Eve. You're hiding." Angel said. "You know the second you step out that door, the second you don't have these symbols keeping you invisible to the partners, they're gonna zero in."

Buffy stepped closer to Eve causing her to flinch away. "So don't bother playing the pity angle. The only thing you care about is saving your own ass."

"The only thing I care about is gone. You gave him up to the Senior Partners, let them suck him into…."

"I could do the same to you. I could tell them how to see through your security system."

"You wouldn't."

"Not if you tell me what I want to know." The house started shaking as a deep rumbling sound was heard somewhere outside the door.

"Oh, you bitch! You told them! You…."

"Wasn't me."

"Oh, God. They're coming. Please, don't let them take me. Buffy, please, I'll tell you. I'll tell you anything you want to know."

Buffy looked at Eve, then looked at the front door as the doorknob rattled. Angel grabbed Eve's wrist and hauled her to the balcony. Spike and Buffy jumped first and Angel tossed Eve down to Spike before jumping himself. They pressed against the wall and waited. When no one showed up, Buffy stuck her head out and looked. She gave the all clear and the four of them dashed to Buffy's car.

When they got back to Wolfram and Hart, Buffy stepped off the elevator into the lobby followed by Angel, Spike, and Eve and called out, "Harmony!"

"Yepper?" Harmony asked, jumping up.

"Call Xander and tell him to put security on red alert. Nobody gets in this building without clearance from me. I want a guard at every entrance, every elevator, every stairwell. Cover the whole building."

"Ok, but you know how that never works…."

"Harmony!"

"On it."

"All right, Spike, stay with Eve. Anything gets past security, kill it."

"Where are you going?" Spike asked as he escorted Eve into Buffy's office.

"To see my lawyer. Angel…."

"Coming."

* * *

Gunn was sitting in a hospital gown in a hospital bed when Buffy and Angel walked into the room. "We have a problem." Buffy said. "Senior Partners found Eve. They sent something to take her out. I need to know if I have jurisdiction to protect her. What's protocol here?"

"I don't know." Gunn said.

"Right. Well, when you're through reading about important things like, um…." Buffy picked up the magazine Gunn was reading and read the headlines. "Trista and Ryan's big baby plans maybe you can put some thought into it."

"I'm just not sure…."

"Gunn, you paid a high price for what's in that brain, so you better damn well use it."

"There's a proviso in your contract. Says that as CEO of a Wolfram & Hart branch, you can invoke a rapio salvus order. Basically says you're taking custody of a wayward employee. It's not usually used for protection, but it should work."

"Great. How do I…."

"I'll make a call."

"Good." Buffy started to walk out, but stopped. "Listen, Gunn…. I know you feel bad about your part in what happened to Dawn. And you should. For the rest of your life, it should wake you up in the middle of the night. And it will…. because you're…." She paused, not wanting to say it because a big part of her still hated Gunn for what he had done to Dawn. "Because you're a good man."

"But I knew. Not about Dawn, but…. when I signed that piece of paper, I knew there would be consequences."

"You know, the thing about atonement is, you never run out of chances." Angel said. "But you gotta take 'em. You can't hide in some hospital room and pretend it's all gonna go away…. Because it never will."

"And just so we're clear." Buffy added. "I don't forgive you for the part you had to play in my sister's…. I can't forgive you. At least not right now."

"I understand."

"Good." Buffy turned and walked out with Angel following.

Eve and Spike waited in Buffy's office. "Brilliant." Eve said. "Really. They'll never look for me here. I'm gonna die."

"You make it hard for me to want to help you." Spike said.

Buffy and Angel walked into the office. "We don't want to help her." Buffy said. "But….we will. You're under my protection."

"Thank the gods." Eve said, but stepped back as Buffy approached.

"But, you know, I can take it away with one phone call. Convince me not to, Eve."

Eve sat in a chair between Angel and Spike as they glared at her and Buffy stood over her glaring. "How can I?"

"Let's start with something easy, huh? You."

"Me?"

"What are you? What do you do for the Senior Partners?"

"I'm a liaison. I liaise." Buffy crossed her arms and Eve flinched. Buffy smiled, loving that Eve was terrified of her. "Look, what do you want me to say? I'm a leprechaun. I'm from Brigadoon."

"If I had a nickel for every time I heard that one." Spike said.

"There are layers upon layers at Wolfram & Hart, Buffy, things you'll never understand. What am I? I'm a child of the Senior Partners, created to do their bidding."

"You're an immortal?" Buffy asked. "Why are you here?"

"To watch. Tell them what I see. Pass on messages to you, if there are any."

"So you're, uh, middle management?" Spike asked.

"What are the Senior Partners, huh?" Angel asked. "What do they…."

"No idea." Eve said. Buffy took a step forward and eve flinched. "Do you honestly believe the Senior Partners would let me have access to that information? I only know what they want me to know and only when they want me to know it."

"You don't know anything?" Buffy asked.

"Maybe. Maybe I know a lot…. but I don't have access to it. It's locked in my head somewhere, and I don't have the key. Ready for the funny part? There was someone who could've told you everything you want to know…. and you let the Senior Partners take him away."

"Lindsey." Angel said.

"Lindsey's dedicated years of his life to the study of the Senior Partners. No one knows more about them than he does. What they've done, what they plan to do…."

"I thought he was after me."

"You're saying bringing Angel back, the fail-safe…. that was all about the Senior Partners?" Buffy asked.

"No. It's about Angel, too." Eve looked at Angel. "He really doesn't like you…. but he may know more about you than…. well, than you do."

"Which is why they snatched him up. They couldn't risk him and you having a sit-down."

"And now…. what he's going through."

"They didn't kill him?"

"They would want him to suffer horrors. Lindsey is in some hideous, awful hell."

Before anyone could say anything, Lorne walked through the door. "What's she doing here?"

"She's going to sing for you." Buffy said.

"Why?" Eve and Lorne asked.

"I want to know if she's lying to me about Lindsey being in hell." Buffy glared at Eve and she started singing.

"There's thousands of different kinds of hells." Spike said. "You got your fire hell, your ice hell…. your…. ice hell. Your upside-down hell…."

"Spike, I don't care if he's in "pink toy poodles on parade" hell. He's got information that we need."

"According to the girl whose only reason for being is to see her little pookie bear again."

"I'm not lying." Eve said. She looked at Lorne. "Well, tell him I'm not lying."

"No one can fake it through the pina colada song. Not once the chorus kicks in." Lorne said.

"If Lindsey can tell us what the Senior Partners have planned, I want him." Buffy said. "If you got a better idea how to do it, I'm totally open."

"Didn't say that." Spike said. "Just pointed out that this one sucks. We're looking for a hell dimension in a haystack. How are we supposed to know?"

Gunn walked into the office. "I know. And I can get us in." Gunn was wearing street clothes, not his usual business suit. His head was shaved and he looked more like the pre-W&H Gunn.

"Us?" Angel asked.

* * *

Gunn led Angel and Buffy into the garage. Buffy had asked Spike to stay behind and watch Eve and to let Connor know where's they'd gone. "Started flipping through the brain files soon as Harmony told me." Gunn was saying. "Figured there had to be some kind of precedent."

"And?" Buffy asked.

"Senior partners had trouble with a guy in the Tokyo division way back. Lindsey probably got the tattoo idea from studying up on him."

"And wherever they sent this guy, that's where Lindsey is." Angel said.

"Yep."

"I hope it's toy poodle hell. I've had my fill of fire."

"It's not hell. It's a Wolfram & Hart holding dimension."

"Meaning what? The Senior Partners haven't decided what to do with Lindsey?" Buffy asked.

"Their version of a penalty box."

"Great. So…. how we supposed to get there?"

"Ever taken the Camaro?" Gunn tossed the keys to Buffy and they stopped walking as they approached the classic Camaro painted shiny cobalt blue that Buffy had always wondered why Wolfram and Hart hadn't gotten rid of it when they'd switched out Angel's motor pool for hers.


	79. Chapter 79

Chapter 79

Buffy was in the driver's seat, but she wasn't steering. The car was driving itself. Gunn was riding shotgun, and Angel was sitting in the tiny backseat.

"This is giving me a major wiggins. Is this giving anybody else a major wiggins?" Buffy asked.

"Car's built to get us there." Gunn said. "Once we have Lindsey, it's on us to find the Wrath."

"The Wrath? You know that's gonna be a laugh riot."

"Whatever it is, we got to go through it to get out."

"I've never seen these streets before." Angel said.

"Me either. And I grew up here." Buffy said.

"Where we going?" Gunn said. "Not in the Thomas Guide."

Buffy sighed and sat back in her seat. "There's gonna be fire."

The Camaro headed through the dark night into a tunnel carved into a hillside. When it emerged from the other end of the tunnel, it was a beautiful, sunny day with clear blue skies. They looked out the window to find themselves in a suburban neighborhood.

"This isn't hell." Buffy said.

"It's the 'burbs." Gunn said.

"Close enough."

"This is Lindsey's punishment?" Angel scoffed. "For trying to kill me? Huh! Maybe it's a reward!" The Camaro drove down the street and stopped in front of a two story, suburban house. Angel looked out the car window at the sunny front lawn between the car and Lindsey's front door. "Ok, so we open this with being on fire. That's great."

"You can put your coat over your head and make a run for it." Buffy suggested.

Gunn opened the car door, and Angel reacted instantly, recoiling with fright and putting his hands to his face trying to shield himself from the sunlight pouring in through Gunn's open car door. After a moment, Angel realized he wasn't on fire after all, and Gunn gave him a matter-of-fact look.

"Alternate dimension, remember?" He said. "Sun's the non-frying variety."

Angel laughed, obviously embarrassed. "I figured that."

"Can we go?"

"Yeah." Angel got out of the car and they all 3 walked to the front door. "Grab Lindsey and we get out."

"Kill everything in our way."

Buffy snorted. "What's going to be in our way, the family poodle?"

"This is Wolfram & Hart. Odds are there's something ugly behind that door."

A beautiful blonde woman opened the door and smiled. "Can I help you?"

Angel and Gunn gawked at the woman. Buffy, being the only one without a penis, shook her head. "Hi! Is Lindsey home?"

"Sure. Come on in." Angel, Buffy, and Gunn followed the woman into the house. "Honey? There's coffee."

"No. We're fine. Thanks."

A very happy Lindsey came down the steps. "Zach's hockey stick's gone missing. Oh. I didn't realize we had company."

"I'll do search and rescue." The blonde woman walked away.

"Ok. How can I help you guys and lady?"

"Cut the act, Ward. June's gone." Angel said.

"'Scuse me?"

"You don't know who we are?"

"No. Do you play in the league?"

"No, um…. I'm Angel. This is Buffy and Gunn."

"You might want to have a seat." Gunn said.

"Ok." Lindsey gestured to seats for the four of them. "Please. Is this about the free vacation I entered to win?"

"Does the name Wolfram & Hart mean anything to you?" Buffy asked. "It's a law firm. You used to work there."

"All right, Buffy, is it? Yeah. Now, the only lawyer I know is the one who fixes my speeding tickets."

"Well, that guy, he's not real. None of this is. You must be under some spell."

"What?"

"Basically, you're in hell." Gunn said. "We've come to break you out."

"All right. Who put you up to this? Was it Fisher?"

"There's no joke. You're in a mystical holding cell, an alternate reality."

"So Trish is not my wife and Zach's not my son?"

"Now he's getting it." Buffy said. "Have you ever heard of something called the Wrath?"

"Seriously, is Fisher outside?" Lindsey stood and looked out the window laughing.

"Lindsey, this whole life is a lie." Angel said.

"All right. This is starting to get a little less funny. I think you guys should leave."

"I can't believe I'm saying this, but we're here to help."

"Ok. Get out. Now."

Angel grabbed Lindsey by the collar. "Look, we're telling you the truth. You don't want to believe it, that's your choice. Either way, you're coming with us."

"Get off of me!"

Angel glanced at Lindsey's necklace between his fist-fulls of Lindsey's shirt collar. "Maybe this will help you make up your mind." He ripped the necklace off of Lindsey. Lindsey collapsed to the floor in a heap.

He came to and tried to sit up when he noticed Angel standing there, wearing a dagger on his belt. "Angel. Make it quick."

"If I was gonna kill you, it wouldn't be quick." Angel pulled Lindsey to his feet by his collar.

Gunn glanced at the discarded necklace on the floor, when Lindsey's "wife" walked into the kitchen, smiling. Buffy smiled brightly. "Oh! Hi. Your husband was just showing us a thing…." The wife lifted up her arms to reveal she was carrying a machine gun.

She pointed it at the group and started shooting. Gunn pulled Lindsey to safety because he was just standing there mired in confusion. Angel dove out and shielded Buffy, who was out in the open with nowhere to duck and cover. He pulled her away and they ducked behind the couch.

"I guess your wife's a little moody." Buffy yelled at Lindsey over the gunfire.

"Get Lindsey to the car! Go! Now!" Angel yelled. He rushed the wife, serving as a shield for the others behind him as they tried to escape. Buffy grabbed Lindsey up and together with Gunn, carried him out through the front door as the wife continued shooting. Angel got close enough to rush her and he nearly knocked the gun from her hand, but she punched him, knocking him down, then started beating Angel in the head with the butt of the gun.

As Buffy and Gunn escorted Lindsey out of the house, Buffy stopped in her tracks when she noticed that the Camaro was no longer parked on the street in front of the house. "Didn't we have a car?"

As they stood there stupefied, an ice cream truck pulled up in front of the house, and the driver started shooting a machine gun at them from the street. Buffy grabbed Lindsey and Gunn, and dove back into the house. She took a bullet in her upper arm as she pushed them into the house. The mail carrier also joined in the firefight, shooting at the gang with a handgun in each hand.

"Son of a bitch!" Buffy screamed.

Lindsey tripped and fell to the ground as Gunn and Buffy shoved him out of the firefight outside back into the house. Angel was still fighting the wife, but appeared to have the upper hand now as he punched her repeatedly in the face, ultimately knocking her down.

"Hey, our ride's gone." Gunn called. He saw the boy Zach creeping down the stairs holding a machine gun. "Get down!" The boy started shooting and the gang hid behind the couch again. "We've got to find the Wrath. Where's the Wrath?"

"Where's not the Wrath? The Wrath's all over!" Buffy growled, holding her hand tightly over the bleeding wound.

"Buffy!" Angel said. "You're hurt."

"I didn't notice." She shot back sarcastically.

"Here." Angel ripped off part of his shirt and made a make-shift tourniquet around Buffy's arm. The bleeding slowed, but she needed to see a doctor. "Lindsey, think. Do you know where it is?"

"I don't know. I don't know!" Lindsey cried.

"There's a door by the kitchen." Buffy said, holding her arm. "Might be a way out through the cellar."

"No! We can't go down there, not the cellar!"

"Cellar it is, then."

"Guessin' we found the Wrath." Gunn said.

"No! Please, don't!" Lindsey cried.

Angel turned over the couch and pushed it forward into the boy, giving them a reprieve from the gunfire as they headed for the cellar door. The four of them went through the door and down the steps into the cellar.

Lindsey hesitated on the steps. "We're all gonna die."

Angel pushed him forward. "Not today."

"Every day."

They descended the stairs into the cellar which looked more like a torture dungeon and was lit by candles instead of normal lighting.

Buffy walked up to a pile of a hundred or so bloody organs on the floor and picked one up. "A heart? Whose are these?"

"Mine." Lindsey said.

Buffy quickly dropped the heart back into the pile. "Oh."

"Try to find the door, some way out." Angel said.

"With pleasure. The faster we get out of here, the better. I'm starting to feel a little woozy here." Buffy headed right and Angel headed left as Gunn stared at the pile of hearts on the floor. Buffy paused to look at chains and manacles on a post. "Somebody has fun with these."

Angel opened a creaking door. "Buffy." It revealed a huge flaming furnace behind the door.

"The Wrath?"

"Could be."

"What did I tell you? Fire."

"The lock's mystical." Gunn said.

"Well, how do we…."

"He's coming." Lindsey said.

"Who?"

"He knows. He always knows."

"Again, I ask, who?" Buffy noticed a demon approaching, his chains rattling. "Oh…. Him."

"Gunn, guard Lindsey!" Angel cried.

Gunn took Lindsey out of the way, while Angel and Buffy faced off with the demon. Buffy swung a pipe at the demon, her arm burning, and Angel used his dagger. Eventually, after much punching and kicking each other across the room, the vampire-vampire Slayer duo overpowered the demon by using his own torture devices.

"Come on." Buffy called, being held up by Angel as the dizziness started to set in. Gunn put Lindsey's necklace on. "Gunn, no! What the hell are you doing?"

"What needs to be done." Gunn said.

"I'm not leaving you here."

"You don't make the rules here. Wolfram & Hart does. If one leaves, one has to stay. A void is impossible." The gate in front of the fire opened.

"You knew." Angel said.

"That thing about atonement."

"Gunn…."

"Let's go." Buffy said.

"When I forget, the door closes." Gunn said. "Go. You have to."

Angel and Buffy led Lindsey into the fire. They fell through a portal dropped onto a moving car. Lorne screeched to a halt. "What the daisy?!" Lorne got out of the car with Eve and Spike.

"Lindsey!" Eve cried, running up and hugging him. "What did they do to you?"

"He'll be fine." Angel said. "Whereas Buffy got shot." He gently held Buffy's arm and placed his other hand on her back, leading her away. "Let's get upstairs."

"Be careful. She's hurt." Spike said.

Lorne followed after them, urgently saying, "Uh, Buffy, you should know there's a very tall, well-dressed, uh…. Where's Gunn? Guys?"

"He, uh…." Angel started.

"He stayed behind." Buffy said.

"Stayed behind?" Lorne asked. "But you never leave a…. Or…. I guess we do. That's what we do now."

There was a thumping on the stairwell door and Eve panicked. "Oh, god!"

"Like I was saying."

The man pursuing Eve punched the door off its hinges, sending it flying into the garage. When the dust settled, the man walked out into the garage and approached Buffy and the others.

"Damn…." Buffy said. "He is well-dressed."

"Please, don't do this." Eve said.

Buffy walked toward the man, still woozy from blood loss. "Eve's under my protection. You can't touch her." The man stood his ground and reached into his vest pocket to pull out a pen.

"Whoa. Didn't see that coming." Spike said.

"You know how it works, Eve." The man said.

"You could talk to the Senior Partners." Eve begged. "Tell them it's a mistake."

"That's impossible." The man reached into his other vest pocket.

Buffy took a step forward. "I said back off."

The man pulled out a contract from his vest pocket and unfolded it for Eve. "Don't bother, Buffy. It's over." Eve said, taking the pen.

"Sign here. Good girl." The man said.

"What the hell's going on?" Buffy asked.

"Oh, sorry for the intrusion. I'm Marcus Hamilton, your new liaison to the Senior Partners."

"You're what?"

"Along with her immortality and certain other privileges, Eve has signed over her duties to me." He flipped to the back page. "Oh, and initial there."

"Wait, this is about a contract? I thought you said you were gonna die."

"And now one day I will." Eve said.

"The Senior Partners felt it was time for a change. Eve was too easily distracted. Lost sight of the big picture." Hamilton said.

"I fell in love."

"Yes. Congratulations. Wonderful escape, by the way. Very clever. We'll be in touch. Oh, I have some excellent ideas I can't wait to share."

"This is my house. The only ideas that matter are mine." Buffy said.

"Absolutely. That's the policy. The Senior Partners are behind you 100."

"I seriously doubt that."

"I'm looking forward to working myself into the mix. Buffy, Angel, Spike…." Hamilton opened his arms in a welcoming gesture. "Welcome to the team." He walked away.

"Well, he's not so bad." Lorne said.

* * *

Fred was using some hefty tweezers to pull bullets out of Angel's back. She dropped one into a bowl nearby and proceeded to dig out another. Buffy walked in to her office and sat on her desk next to Angel with her arm in a sling. Medical had dug out the bullet, stopped the bleeding, and sewed her back up. She would be able to move her arm in the morning with her Slayer healing, but the doctors wanted to be safe. Lindsey and Eve were sitting side-by-side on the couch with Lindsey leaning on Eve's shoulder. He looked up when Buffy walked in.

"Oh, look. It's the hero of the hour."

"I'm not your hero. I'm your warden." Buffy snapped.

"It's all how you look at the glass."

"I thought a few months of torture at the hands of the Senior Partners would have dug a little deeper." Angel said, grunting as Fred got another bullet out.

"Just scratched the surface. Turns out they can only undo you as far as you think you deserve to be undone. I wonder how Gunn's gonna make out."

"The Senior Partners want to know everything you know about them. About the apocalypse, about their plans for me." Buffy said. "And for Angel."

"And for me." Spike said from his place in front of the window. "The guy with the pen said, 'welcome to the team.' Must've meant something."

"You know what I know. Look around." Lindsey said. "The world's a cesspool…. full of selfish and greedy beasts. We live, we die." He looked at Eve. "Even you, babe."

"Lindsey, don't." Eve said.

"You still happy to see me?"

"Yeah, hell's on earth. Holland manners tried to sell me that line 3 years ago." Angel said.

"Did you ever prove him wrong?"

"All how you look at the glass."

"You know, Lindsey, we can philosophize all night." Buffy said.

"Hell…. We could do it forever, huh? I don't need to eat, sleep, drink. How about you?"

"That's what I like to see…. the Angel of yore." Lindsey said. "Takes no prisoners, suffers no fools. Got a Slayer at his side. How 'bout this? It's here. It's been here all along. Underneath. You're just too damn stupid to see it."

"See what?"

"The apocalypse, man. You're soaking in it."

"I've seen an apocalypse or two in my time." Spike said. "I'd know if one was under my nose."

"Not _an_ apocalypse. _The_ apocalypse. What'd you think, a gong was gonna sound? Time to jump on your horses and fight the big fight? Starting pistol went off a long time ago, kids. You're playing for the bad guys. Every day you sit behind your desks and you learn a little more how to accept the world the way it is. Well, here's the rub…. heroes don't do that. Heroes don't accept the world the way it is. They fight it."

"You're saying everything we do…. it's a distraction?" Buffy asked. "To keep us busy from looking under the surface."

"Ding! We have a winner! The world keeps sliding towards entropy and degradation, and what do you do? You sit in your big chair, and you sign your checks, just like the Senior Partners planned. The war's here, guys. And you're already how many soldiers down?"


	80. Chapter 80

Chapter 80

Buffy sat with Connor and Angel at a swanky restaurant that usually took a reservation made months before to be able to eat there, but because Buffy was CEO of Wolfram and Hart, it only took minutes. It had been Connor's idea that he, his father, and his adoptive mother should go out and have a dinner for just the family. It had started out great fun, but Buffy quickly got depressed since it was supposed to be a family dinner and Dawn was no longer there.

Wesley had spent the last two weeks with Illyria teaching her what she would need to function in this world. Buffy tried to help, but all she could see was Dawn. Even though Illyria's voice was different than Dawn's, Buffy could still hear the similarity since Illyria was technically using Dawn's voice box. Most days Buffy couldn't fathom that her little sister, the girl she had sacrificed herself to save, was gone.

She knew she was responsible. All she had to have done to save Dawn was say no to Lilah. But Lilah had enticed her. Lilah had said the one thing that Buffy couldn't resist. She had tempted her with the thought of completing Angel's last task because it might mean his redemption.

Buffy shook her head and tried to smile brightly at Connor as he went to the bathroom, but it came off as strained. Angel noticed and gripped her hand. "I'm sorry." Buffy said. "I'm being a party pooper."

"It's ok." Angel said. "Maybe this was too soon."

"No. This is…. Good…. For me. I need to deal and move on."

"Buffy, you lost your younger sister." Angel said. "You don't just 'deal and move on.'"

"What else am I supposed to do? I'm supposed to be this hard core bitch because the Circle could be watching every step I make. I can't have feelings. I can't…. I can't grieve for Dawn."

"When this is over…."

"We might not be here."

"Buffy…."

"It's true. We might not make it. Everyday something new comes along to keep us distracted. This apocalypse is going to side swipe us. Lindsey was right."

"No, he wasn't. The Black Thorn is taking notice. Izzy talked to me yesterday in racquetball."

Buffy rolled her eyes. "I don't know how much more I can take."

"It won't be much longer."

"How do you know that?"

"I…."

"I'm back." Connor said, walking back up. "They have real towels in the bathroom instead of paper ones."

Buffy smiled thinly. "Well, that's where our fifty bucks a person is going to. Real towels."

"What'd I miss? The food didn't come. Dawn said…." Connor stopped. "Oh, Buffy, I'm sorry. I…."

"It's ok. Dawn said what?"

"She, uh, she said that going to the bathroom always makes the food come when you're at a restaurant."

Buffy smiled sadly. "Yeah."

"Buffy, I'm really sorry. I didn't mean anything by it. I was just saying."

"It's fine, Connor. Really. I'm ok."

"But…."

"I'm fine, Connor." Buffy took a sip of her wine and looked away.

* * *

Illyria knocked Spike across the training room. It was a large circular room empty except for the various weapons lining the walls and the observation window. Buffy watched through the window in the observation room.

"You break so easily." Illyria said as Spike shook his head and got to his feet. "Why do you bother getting back up?"

"Right." Spike said. "We need to set some ground rules. First off: no more punching me in the face. Secondly, when I punch you in the face, you tell me how you feel so I can write that down on my clipboard." He bent down to pick up his clipboard from the floor. "Third, no touching my clipboard. Fourth…."

"I enjoy hurting you."

"Well, we're gonna have to fix that, 'cause…."

Without flinching, Illyria kicked Spike in the face. Spike dropped his clipboard and punched Illyria in the face with all his might, then giving her a nod of 'how'd you like that?'. Her head turned slightly at being punched, but it didn't seem to faze her as she backhanded him, sending him across the room and into the door. She smiled and Buffy walked in to the room.

"How's it going?" Buffy asked.

"I've been hitting the half-breed. He makes noise." Illyria said.

Spike got to his feet. "We're off to a bit of a rough start, but don't worry. I'll break her."

"She's not a horse, Spike." Buffy said. "You know, this room has automated training devices. You don't have to test her by just…. letting her beat you senseless…. Well, more senseless than you were before she started beating you."

Spike rolled his eyes. "Funny. We're working on the basics. But don't worry, I'm writing it all down. So far, I've established that she can hit like a Mack truck, selectively alter the flow of time, and, uh…. possibly talk to plants."

"I'd like to keep Spike as my pet." Illyria said.

Buffy snorted. "Fine by me."

"You reek of frustration. It curls off of you like smoke."

"Actually, love, we call that wine. Red, if I'm not mistaken." Spike said.

"I just got back from dinner with Angel and Connor." Buffy said.

"Oh, old broody-pants got you wound up, eh? Keep in mind, you two better not be making with the nice-nice or I'll stake you both, vampire or no on your end."

"In my time, a leader would punish your insolence with death." Illyria said.

"He's not being insolent, Illyria." Buffy said.

Spike held up his hand. "Oh, I am."

Buffy rolled her eyes. "Spike, sometimes…."

"I annoy you. I've heard that tune, love. It's old." He smiled. "So, where is Forehead and Junior?"

"Fore…. Angel went to bed. Connor decided he wanted to patrol."

"You let him go alone?"

Buffy shrugged. "He's a big boy. He can handle himself."

Angel rushed in. "Buffy, it's Connor."

Spike looked at Buffy with a know-it-all expression. "Shut up." Buffy said, following Angel out. Connor sat in Buffy's office with Fred dabbing at a wound on his head. "What happened?"

"They jumped me." Connor said.

"Who?"

He shrugged. "I don't know what they were. Demons of some kind. I was patrolling and out of no where, five of them just attacked. I killed three of them, but the other two got away."

"Did they say what they wanted?" Connor shook his head. "Angel, grab Wes and get him on this."

"He already is." Fred said, putting a bandage on Connor's head wound. "He was in the lobby when Connor came in."

"Oh."

Fred smiled. "Hey, it was a good plan. Very solid."

"Thanks. You know, Wes is the book guy, so…."

Wesley walked in carrying several large books. "From your description, Connor, I've found several demons that could be the ones that attacked. I'll need you to identify them for me."

"Sure." Connor said, getting up to stand next to Wesley.

Buffy looked at Angel and he shrugged, offering her a sympathetic smile. "They came and got me since they couldn't find you."

"Then they weren't looking very hard." Buffy said. "You found me."

"Because I knew where you would be after the conversation at the restaurant." Angel took her hand and kissed her gently.

"That's them." Connor said, pointing at a picture in one of Wesley's books.

"You're sure?" Wesley asked. Connor nodded. "Kith'harn demons. In Los Angeles, they're the known henchmen of a warlock called Cyvus Vail."

"What do we know about him?" Buffy asked.

"He's powerful. Heads up a large demon empire, has tendrils stretching throughout L.A."

"Tendril-tendrils?"

"Metaphor-tendrils."

"What does he want with me?" Connor asked.

"If he's using his Kith'harn demons, he's not trying to remain anonymous."

"Ok then." Buffy headed to her private elevator.

"Where are you going?" Angel asked.

"To visit this guy."

"I'll come with." Connor said.

"No. You're staying here."

"Buffy, we know hardly anything about this man. If he's trying to bait you or Angel…."

"It's not up for discussion."

"At least take backup…."

"I said I'd take care of it, Wes. Drop it!" The doors opened and Buffy got in the elevator. Before she could say anything, Angel slipped in with her and the doors shut, taking them down to the motor pool. "What are you doing?"

"Going with you." Angel said as if they had already decided it and she knew it.

"Angel…."

"He's my son. If this guy is after him, I wanna know why." Angel noticed the glare Buffy sent his way. "Our. Our son." He smiled at her and looked back at the doors, waiting for them to reach the bottom.

* * *

A man sat in a large, elegant chair in a large, well-decorated but empty room. IV drips attached to him hung on a mobile stand. The man, with dark reddish skin and straggly, thinning, white hair, wheezed when he breathed, which he did with the assistance of oxygen tubes. Suddenly the quiet was interrupted when the limp body of a demon was thrown through the door and into the room, landing on the floor and sliding toward the man's feet. Buffy and Angel walked through the door.

"Did you kill all of my guards?" Vail asked.

"All the ones she could find." Angel said.

"Mmm. I should have given them the day off. I wasn't trying to kill your son, you know. I simply needed him to understand what he is capable of."

"He knows what he's capable of." Buffy said.

"Could one of you help me up? I'd have one of my guards do it, but, well, you know." Angel helped Vail to his feet. "Thank you."

Angel ripped the oxygen tubes from Vail's face, pushed him back into the chair, and squeezed his throat violently. "What do you want?

"I need someone dead. A demon…. named Sahjahn."

"Sahjahn."

"Who's Sahjahn?" Buffy asked.

"The demon that helped Holtz take my son into hell." Angel looked at Buffy and let go of Vail. "He opened the tear to Quar-Toth."

Vail got to his feet and walked past Angel, pulling his IV stand behind him. "He's a nasty little cur!"

"He's gone. I trapped him in a bottle."

Vail opened a cabinet. "An urn…. actually." The opened door revealed the urn was inside the cabinet. "It's a morbid thing. Doesn't really go with my decor."

"He's trapped. Let him rot."

"Urns tend to break. Long lost enemies tend to return. I need finality to my affairs." Vail held out his right hand, palm up, and waved his left hand at it, conjuring a glowing yellow glass cube in the right hand. "Do you know what an Orlon Window is? It's a fascinating little spell. It allows warlocks such as myself to see the past as it once was."

"What does that have to do with anything?" Buffy asked. "No one's memories have been altered."

"That's just the point. They could be." Vail looked at Buffy. "There are numerous possibilities to how I can change your memories without you being able to stop me. Or, maybe I could change everyone else's memories except yours."

"What purpose would that serve?" Angel asked.

"I could take Connor away from you. I could alter his memories so he doesn't know either of you. I could make him believe his real parents were killed by the two of you. I could even erase the memories of your precious dead sister that the monks placed in your heads. I am not the sort of man you want as an enemy."

"Fine. We'll do it. We'll kill Sahjahn." Buffy said.

"If it were that simple, I'd do it myself. No, the prophecy is quite clear. There is only one person who can kill Sahjahn."

"Connor." Angel said.

"So…. you see our problem?"

* * *

Connor sat in a chair across from Angel, leaning his elbows on the chair arms, and leaning his chin on his clasped hands. Buffy sat in the chair next to Connor and watched his reaction.

"He wants me to kill somebody?" Connor asked. "That's it?"

"A demon named Sahjahn. I've fought him before." Angel said.

"Why me? Why do I have to do it?"

"There's a prophecy that says you're the only one who can kill him."

"Another prophecy about me?"

"Why are we even entertaining this?" Wesley asked.

"Vail's made some convincing threats." Buffy said.

"Since when do we give in to threats? We can't trust anything from Vail."

"Is he pretty strong, this Sahjahn?" Connor asked.

"That's a bit of an understatement. Last time you fought him, Angel, Sahjahn nearly killed you."

"Is that true?" Buffy asked.

"This is different. You're special, Connor." Angel said.

"We don't have a choice, do we?" Connor asked.

"Of course we have a choice." Wesley said. "We…."

"Don't have time."

"If I kill Sahjahn, Vail will leave us alone?" Angel nodded once and Connor looked at Buffy.

"Pretty much, yeah." She said.

"Well, then what are we waiting for?"


	81. Chapter 81

Chapter 81

Buffy, Angel, and Connor were together in the training room. "You're not alone in this." Buffy said. "Your dad and I'll be right there with you."

Connor lifted an amused eyebrow. "You guys gonna hold Sahjahn down while I stab him?"

"Hey, the prophecy doesn't say you can't have a little help." Angel said.

"Hardly seems fair."

"Fair's not something we need worry about."

"Should I take one of these with me?" Connor lifted up a weapon. "An ax, or a broadsword or something?"

"I don't know." Buffy said. She looked at Angel. "You fought him, not us."

"Ok. Connor, you're faster than Sahjahn. Use it. He talks a lot. He'll try to lull you into slowing down. Don't listen. Hit him quick. Keep moving."

"Keep moving. Gotcha." Connor nodded and then looked at Buffy. "Do you really think I can do this?"

Buffy smiled confidently. "I know you can."

"I think that's the first real smile you've smiled since…." Connor left the sentence hanging, knowing that she knew what he was talking about.

"Yeah. I don't have much to smile about these days."

"Well, if I kill this dude, we'll have a party. That's always something to smile about, right?"

"When. When you kill this dude." Buffy patted Connor's arm. "We'll go to Chuckie Cheese or something."

"Chuckie Cheese?" Angel and Connor asked. Buffy just rolled her eyes.

* * *

Buffy, Angel, and Connor walked into Vail's receiving room. "I said it before and I'll say it again: This place smells like a retirement home." Buffy said quietly.

"Welcome." Vail said, standing up to greet them. "I've been waiting for you."

"Oh, lord. Look at him." Connor said.

"Shh!" Angel hissed. "Listen, Vail, we won't be staying long."

Connor cut Angel off and stood fearlessly up in Vail's face. "Here's how it works. I kill this Sahjahn thing, and we walk. You come near me or my family again, and I'll slit your throat. And if that doesn't kill ya, I'll chop your whole head off. And if that doesn't work, I'll…. I'll just keep…. stabbing you till you bleed to death. Understand?"

"I do." Vail said, touching his throat.

"Good. So…. where is he?"

Vail pointed to his left. "Right through there."

Connor looked to the adjacent room with a long table beneath a crystal chandelier. "Ok." He looked at Buffy. "See you later." He walked toward the next room.

Angel jumped to Connor's side, whispering, "Listen, he's gonna talk to you. Don't let him distract you."

"I won't."

"Even if he's on the ground, do not take your eyes off him."

"Ok."

"Whatever you do, do not…."

"Dad, you're starting to freak me out."

"Right. Sorry. Sorry. Go get him." Angel stepped back as Connor walked into the next room. "We'll be right over here."

Connor walked up to the table in the adjacent room and noticed an assortment of axes and an urn on the table. He walked around the table, taking it all in. "What am I supposed…." When he turned to pose the question to Vail, Connor saw that a wall had appeared between him and the other room. "Ok."

Buffy, Angel, and Vail were standing right outside the room Connor was in. They could see what was happening in the room, but Connor couldn't see them. "He can't see us anymore." Vail said.

Buffy's head snapped towards Vail. "Why not?"

"I can't risk Sahjahn getting loose. He has a nasty habit of trying to kill me. But don't worry. Your boy is very brave. I'm sure he'll do you proud."

Connor looked at the urn on the table and sighed. He took the top off of the urn, and silvery smoke emanated from it, assembling nearby and forming Sahjahn.

Sahkahn looked around and saw Connor. "Thank you, mortal, for releasing me from my cursed prison. In gratitude, I grant you 3 wishes."

Connor lifted an eyebrow. "Really?"

"Nah. I'm just messing with you." He chuckled. "I do appreciate it, though. Ahh…. that urn wasn't exactly a day at the spa. I owe you one."

"Right. Well, before you start trying to kiss me…. You and I, are supposed to fight."

"Is that right?"

"Yeah."

"Now, why would you want…." Sahjahn looked closer at Connor. "Ah…. you're him."

"Yeah. I'm me. You can take a moment, if you want."

"Thanks."

"No, he's talking to him. Why is he talking to him? I told him not to talk to him." Angel said, watching Connor and Sahjahn from the other room.

"Been a while since we've seen each other." Sahjahn said. "How'd Quor-Toth work out for you, anyway?"

"Apparently you're the one I have to thank for that."

"That would be me." Sahjahn stretched his arms. "You know, I've had a long time to plan for this moment. I figured you'd be a lot more…. intimidating."

"Well, I've been training with the Slayer. She's not exactly the most intimidating thing in the world, until she starts kicking your ass. Which, by the way, I'll be doing to you."

"The Slayer? Really?" Connor nodded with a smirk. "Cool." Sahjahn pulled a faster than light punch, knocking Connor to the ground. Upon seeing Connor take a hit, Buffy rushed toward the room, but the barrier preventing Connor and Sahjahn from seeing out also prevented her from getting in. She turned and glared at Vail.

"Sorry. Not your fight." Vail said.

Connor groaned on the floor, but got to his feet. Sahjahn took a couple of swings at Connor, but missed as Connor ducked out of the way each time. Connor punched and connected with Sahjahn's face, and Sahjahn returned the favor, punching Connor and knocking him down.

"Open the doorway. Right now." Buffy growled.

"Or you'll what? Relax. The boy has to grow up sooner or later. Sit back and watch his future unfold." Vail said.

In the other room, Sahjahn punched Connor twice in the face. Connor staggered back, but didn't fall down. He threw a punch, but Sahjahn caught his fist before it connected and punched Connor in the stomach before slinging him across the room. Connor swung at Sahjahn, a knocked him back. Sahjahn punched Connor in the kidneys, sending him to the ground.

"You know…. I went through a lot of trouble to get rid of you. What a colossal waste of time that turned out to be." Sahjahn kicked Connor in the ribs, sending him flying across the room. He grabbed Connor by the lapels and lifted him into the air before slamming him on the table. "These prophecies are turning out to be pretty overrated. I gotta tell you, kid, you're making a good case for the whole concept of free will."

Connor smiled and reached up and grabbed Sahjahn's throat, squeezing tightly. He used his grip to sling Sahjahn over the table and away from him. Connor got to his feet and glared at Sahjahn.

"Lucky shot." Sahjahn said.

"Don't think so." Connor rolled over the tabletop, grabbing an axe, and faced Sahjahn. "Buffy told me to asses my opponent's strengths and weaknesses." They exchanged punches and kicks, but Connor stunned Sahjahn with a punch, and seized the opportunity by swinging the axe at his head, slicing it clean off. "Guess what I was doing." Connor stood over Sahjahn's body, panting. He noticed the barrier between the rooms had vanished and Buffy rushed up to him.

"Are you ok?"

"Yeah. Of course. Just putting that training to good use." Connor said. Buffy lifted an eyebrow. "You know, go with my instincts and follow with a pun. My instincts told me the only way to get to this guy was to make him think I was weak."

"A pun?"

"Ok, it wasn't the best pun ever. I'm still working on those."

"Let's get out of here." Angel said.

* * *

Buffy and Connor walked side by side through the graveyard together. Connor held a sharp stake at the ready as Buffy continued on, weaponless. They were silent as they picked their way through the headstones. Angel walked behind them, keeping an eye out for trouble.

Buffy stopped in front of two headstones placed closer together than all the others. There was no one buried there, so they were just little monuments. Something to let the family have a place to come to if they felt they needed to. Right now, Buffy felt she needed to.

One headstone read Joyce Marie Summers, 1951 – 2001, Loving Mother to Buffy and Dawn. The other said Dawn Michelle Summers, 1987 – 2004, Extraordinary and Brave Young Woman.

Buffy sat down on the grass in front of the two headstones. She reached out and touched Dawn's name. Angel pulled Connor back a few feet to give Buffy some time and space. Tears fell down Buffy's cheeks as she traced Dawn's name. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry I couldn't save you. I tried. We all tried. You were braver than I would've been in the end. If there was any way I could bring you back…. This isn't a fate that was meant for you. You weren't supposed to die like that. You should've been in your bed as an old, old, old lady with lots of grandchildren. You should've been the one to grow old and tell your children and your grandchildren stories of their aunt Buffy. I can't even do that for you, Dawnie. I won't be able to give you nieces and nephews that I could tell about their extraordinary aunt. I'm sorry."

Buffy laid her forehead on the cool stone and cried. Angel walked up and sat next to Buffy. She leaned into him and silently cried as he held her. A vampire attacked, but Buffy and Angel didn't move. Connor took care of the vamp, turning it to dust within seconds. The three of them just sat there, father and son comforting Buffy as she let herself grieve for her lost family.

* * *

Two days later, Buffy was back in the saddle as CEO. She had taken the two days off to be with Angel and let him hold her and comfort her. To everyone else, they thought it had been a mini-vacation. That's what they wanted them to think. Buffy and Angel wanted everyone to think the two of them were starting to break away from the group to do their own thing. They wanted them to become suspicious of Buffy and Angel. The more suspicious they were, the more trusting the Circle would be.

Wesley walked into the office with Angel behind him. "You wanted to see me?"

"I hear that you sent Illyria to rescue Gunn. Any truth to that?" Buffy said.

"I didn't send her. We were discussing Gunn. I explained his situation, our inability to get him out. She nodded, created a portal, and disappeared."

"So she's just, what, helping you out? She's your little helper."

"I would hardly call her…."

"Well, she sure was helpful beatin' me up. Wes, do you have any idea why she's doing all this for you?"

"Does it matter? She may be able to get him out."

"Or she might get him killed." Angel said.

"It doesn't track, Wes." Buffy said. "Why would she take on any risk for us?"

"I doubt this poses a risk to her. She has the power of a god."

"She has the ego of a god." Angel said.

"She was ruler of the world, after all. This sort of thing goes to one's head."

"Apparently."

"I am making progress. There is distance, of course. She would never accept any of us as peers. But…. I afford her some amusement at the very least. It may be why she's still here."

"She's still here because this place reeks of influence." Buffy said. "She had everything, Wes. Everything. You think she's not looking to get that back?"

"I wouldn't presume to know what she wants. But I understand the resource, the power she represents. If we could just find some way to integrate her, to convince her to…."

"To do what? Join the team?" Angel asked. A portal appeared in Buffy's office, and Illyria brought Gunn through it, pushing him to the floor at her feet. "Gunn."

"Illyria."

Illyria grabbed Gunn by the throat and lifted him into the air. "This thing…."

"Let him go." Angel said.

"It's important to you."

"Illyria, stop." Wesley said.

"It holds value…. worth beyond price."

"I said, let him…." Angel growled.

"Yes, great worth." Wesley cut him off. "A great debt. You're talking of the debt, aren't you…. of what we owe you?"

Gunn grunted as Illyria dropped him and he fell to the ground. "Of what you owe me." Illyria said, walking out of the office.

"Go team." Buffy said, not looking up from the papers she was reading through.

"Are you all right?" Wesley asked Buffy.

"I'm fine. Why?"

"You seem…. Not yourself. Ever since…."

"I said I'm fine. You can go."

"Oh, splendid. I was wondering…." Wesley walked out of the room.

Buffy looked at Angel. "This better work."

"It is." Angel assured her. "We're almost in. As soon as we sign those contracts, they'll initiate us and we'll know who they are."

Buffy nodded. "Good."

"They already think that I'm Angelus and you're in league with me."

"Do they?"

"Izzy told me today that he was glad you had seen the light and released me."

"Is that all?"

"No."

"Didn't think so."

"He also said the Circle was…. Curious as to why you haven't been turned." Buffy looked at him sharply. "I said that I had decided you weren't ready."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means that I've been known to groom the ones I choose before I turn them. That's why I've only sired three vampires in my time. Not everyone makes it through the grooming period."

"I never…. I didn't know that."

"Angelus told you about it."

"No he said that I was close to the edge and…. Oh. He was saying I had a lot to learn."

"Exactly. And it gives us the perfect excuse to keep the Circle from making us go that far."

Buffy nodded. "The Fell Brethren are coming tomorrow. Don't forget."

"I won't." Angel said, playing with his nails.

"And I want to have a meeting in the morning about Illyria."

"What for?"

"I think it's time she found some new place to…. Do whatever it is she does."

"Beat Spike? I kind of like being able to see that whenever I want."

"She's dangerous."

"And she looks like the sister you lost."

"That has nothing to do with it."

"Buffy, it's me here. You don't have to pretend to be evil."

"She's dangerous and unpredictable."

"So, we'll have a meeting about it."

"Good." Buffy nodded. "I wasn't asking."


	82. Chapter 82

Chapter 82

Buffy sat at the head of the conference table with Angel at her right. Connor sat to Buffy's left and Gunn sat beside him. Lorne was beside Gunn. Wesley sat on Angel's other side with Fred next to him. Xander sat at the opposite end of the table from Buffy and Spike was pacing behind him near the window.

"Ok, the upshot is you don't like babe the blue ox in your house, and you want to get rid of her." Spike said.

"Yeah." Buffy said simply.

"So…. are we talking pasture…. or slaughterhouse?"

"She didn't have a problem killing Dawn, did she?"

"Illyria infected Dawn, with no more malice than a viral phage." Wesley said.

Angel held up a hand towards Wesley. "Hey, look, Wes, I know you're bonding with her, but…."

"But she's unpredictable, dangerous, too powerful a being, too close to being an enemy. Yes, Angel. It's self-evident."

"Which means we have to find some kind of weakness, some point of vulnerability…." Buffy started.

"You want me to find a way to kill her."

"Have you got a problem with that?"

"No."

"Good." Buffy sat back in the chair. "Because we got more than enough problems to worry about."

"Yeah, for example, what about the Apocalypse?" Xander asked.

"I'm still trying to get my head around that one." Gunn said. "Lindsey said we're in the middle of it?"

"Yeah." Fred said. "The thousand-year war of good versus evil is well under way."

"Evil just hasn't told anyone about it yet, which is probably why they're winning." Buffy said.

"Oh, and by the way, we're apparently on the wrong side." Spike added. "Or the right side, if you like winning."

"Sounds like you guys are buying it." Gunn said.

"Next time you go out there, take a good look around." Angel said. "Cause it's true, Gunn."

"Works for me. So what's that mean for us?"

"Tell us how we fight an invisible war." Buffy said. "I don't even know who we're fighting. All the evil we've stopped so far, and we're still the partners' number-one earner."

Hamilton walked into the conference room unannounced. "Not anymore. Let me ask you something, Buffy. Have you ever heard the term 'surgical strike'?"

"Ever heard the term 'appointment'?"

"Illyria destroyed 11 torture units before she found your man. 2 troop carriers, an ice cream truck, and 8 beautifully maintained lawns. Not to mention dozens of employees rendered useless to the company."

"Bill Wesley's department. He sent her."

"Oh, we will. The damages are coming directly out of that division's profits." Hamilton looked at Wesley. "Congratulations. In one swift stroke, you've gone from a leader of the pack to staggering at the rear."

"And?" Wesley asked.

"Wesley…. you're a smart man at the top of the corporate ladder. Why don't you figure out what comes after 'and'?"

"We're working on that."

"Yes, I'm sure you are. In the meantime, the partners have a small task they'd like you all to oversee. Buffy and Angel have been working on it for some time now. I'm sending Gunn the file today. It's good to see you again, by the way." He said offhandedly to Gunn before turning back to the others. "It's a simple matter, but with some very big players."

"If this is our chance to get into a better grace with the head office, I have to say it's not our priority."

"Oh, no, don't think about us, Wesley. Think about profits. It's profits that let you keep this plucky little boatload of good above water. It's a business, kids, not a bat cave. Buffy, Angel, I'll see you soon." Hamilton left.

"Well, I'll tell you what." Lorne said. "Still like him better than Eve."

* * *

Gunn walked into Buffy's office holding an open file. "Just got the file from Hamilton. Skimming it now. Looks like some sort of ceremonial demon pact. You have to sign as witness for the firm."

"You've met Hamilton." Angel said, sitting on the couch.

"Sorry?"

"The new liaison. You met him before today?"

"Yeah. Came down to my basement for a visit while I was getting carved. Offered to get me out."

"And what'd you say?" Buffy asked.

"Do you really have to ask me that?"

"I really do."

"I turned him down. Not into making deals. Not anymore."

"Well, that's gonna make it tough to be a lawyer."

"It was tough already. Making business go smoothly for a bunch of hideous, scaly, evil clients…."

A very pregnant blonde woman stepped into Buffy's office. "Excuse me…. I'm here about the demon pact."

"Amanda, hi." Buffy said, walking over to the girl. "Right this way." Angel stood up and followed the two blondes into the conference room. Gunn sighed and followed Angel. After everyone was settled in a chair, Buffy looked at Amanda. "So, tell me about the Brethren."

"They found me." Amanda said. "They said that they had these seer people who told them my baby was some kind of holy one. They said it was a prophecy."

"How much do you know about the Fell Brethren?" Gunn asked.

"Well, they're really religious. I mean, their religion, not the God one. But they've been really supportive. They're always bringing me special shakes and vitamins."

"You realize they're demons."

"Uh-huh. They're very open about it."

"Well, any demonic pact should be entered into with caution. They can be riddled with obscure clauses and doubletalk. As our client, we have to advise you…."

Three demons walked into the conference room, dressed in long black hooded robes. The demons had round, bald heads and uneven gray-green skin. The lead demon said in a deep male voice, "She's not your client. We are."

Buffy stood up and smiled. "You must be the Fell Brethren."

"Miss Summers, I presume." The leader said.

"Please, call me Buffy. It's so nice to finally meet you all."

"Your beautiful voice and the rumors do you no justice. You're even more stunning in person."

"Oh, thank you. I'd like to introduce you to Charles Gunn and…."

"The notorious Angelus."

"Actually, it's Ang…." Gunn was cut off when Angel stood up and shook the demons' hands.

"It's nice to meet you." He said.

The Brethren ignored Gunn. "We've heard a lot about the two of you. Quite the dynamic duo."

"We try."

Gunn stood up. "Excuse me. Buffy, Angel, can I talk to you guys for a minute."

Buffy smiled at the Brethren. "Tell you what, guys. If you could just wait with my secretary Harmony while I get things sorted out with Gunn…."

"No problem, Buffy."

Buffy walked with them out into the lobby. "Harmony, get these gentlemen whatever they want, ok?"

"Sure thing, bossy!" Harmony said. Buffy glared. "Boss."

Buffy walked back into the conference room and sat down. "What's this about, Gunn?"

Gunn looked at Amanda. "You're sure you want to do this? It's not too late, Amanda. This contract has some wiggle room somewhere in there. They always do."

"But aren't you the guys that are supposed to tell me to do it?" Amanda asked.

"Oh, we are. And, well, we're not. We, uh…."

Angel's walkie-talkie let out a _beep beep_ and Lorne's voice came through. "Angel Ears, this is Secret Demon. Come in." Angel put his hands over the walkie-talkie.

"Listen, I've had this talk before, believe me." Amanda said. "I know it sounds bad giving up your unborn baby to a supernatural cult, but…."

The walkie-talkie beeped again and Angel put his hands over it, muffling the speech. "Sorry." The walkie-talkie chirped as Angel turned it off and put it in his coat pocket. "Go on."

"See…. their entire nation believes my child is their next, you know, like the Dalai Lama. They're gonna worship him. He'll be cared for better than we could ever. And he'll be someone, somebody important. We'd never be able to give him that."

"Amanda, the Fell Brethren leader makes Jim Jones look like a Sunday school teacher." Gunn said.

"Who's Jim Jones?"

"It doesn't matter." Buffy said.

"Mr. Gunn, we can't afford this baby. My husband, he was hurt at work. Brain-damaged, doctors say. Incurable. We're scraping by on food stamps and disability. But the Brethren…. they say they can make him whole again. Make him…. Remember who I am. I mean, how does a person turn all that down?"

Gunn closed the file and walked out of the conference room. "Excuse us." Angel said, following Gunn. Buffy followed the two men.

Gunn walked to the window and sighed as Buffy closed the doors that partition the conference room from her office. "I'm not feelin' so good." Gunn said.

"First day back from a vacation in hell, you know, I'm not surprised." Angel said.

"Do you know what the worst part of that place was? Wasn't the basement. At least there, you knew where you stood. Demon was gonna cut your heart out and show it to you. Nah. It was the fake life they gave you upstairs. The wife, kids, all the icing on the family cake. But somewhere underneath it, there was the nagging certainty that it was all lies, that all the smiles and the birthday candles and the homework were just there to hide the horror. Is that all we're doing here? Just hiding the horror?"

"No."

"Cause I don't think I can stomach it anymore, not after all that's happened."

"You have to."

"Listen to me, Gunn." Buffy said. "We need you to get through this, to get through all of it so we can figure out the big picture and plot our next move."

"Buffy…. she is our next move."

Harmony walked into the office. "Um…. the Brethren have finished their colas, Buffy, and the sugar high isn't making them any less…."

"Send them back in, Harmony."

"Ok."

The three demons walked into the conference room with Angel, Gunn, and Buffy. Amanda still sat in the same seat. "Amanda!" The leader held his arms wide and Amanda stood, turning to him and smiling. "Ya look wonderful, huh? Huh?! So full of life. So how's our little oven-bun? Still kicking up a storm, I hope. Third trimester." The other demons gestured thumbs-up. "Any more pressure, shortness of breath?" Amanda nodded. "Well, that's normal. Are you taking the black cohosh we sent?" Amanda nodded again. "Lovely. Bipmep cut some articles out of this month's _Fit Pregnancy_. We'll send those along."

"We can get under way." Angel said as they all sat at the table.

"Ah! Good, good." The leader started signing papers. "And…. there…. and done." He handed the papers to Amanda. "There you are, Amanda."

Gunn was reading through the contract. "Wait a minute. Gordabach?"

The leader of the Brethren looked up, irritated, and tried to pass it off as unimportant. "Yes. Gordabach. Just sign right there, mom."

"No, hang on. I just wanna get this clause straight. 'The child will be pampered, worshipped, and fed a holy diet of berries, panda meat, and urine.'"

"Well, it's consecrated urine."

"'And on the eve of his 13th year, he will be prepared for the rites of Gordabach.'"

"That's what, like a bar mitzvah?" Amanda asked.

"Well, there'll be gifts." The leader said.

"Amanda…." Gunn said. "It's a ritual sacri…."

"Whose lawyer are you?!" The leader yelled, pounding the table.

Illyria burst into the conference room, making the door slam open. She looked at Buffy. "You will speak to me."

"In the middle of something." Buffy said.

"Then I will end it."

"Yeah, ok."

"Who's this?" The leader asked.

Buffy looked at Angel. Together they stood up. "Come with us." Buffy said. She glared at Gunn. "Please, try to make the Brethren feel welcome. The LA commute isn't an easy one."

"Thank you, Buffy."

She smiled pleasantly at them and walked out with Angel and Illyria. Lorne was standing just outside the door talking to his walkie-talkie. "Well, do ya copy ever?! Over!" He saw Buffy and Angel walk by. "Hey, hey, is your thingy on?" Then he saw Illyria following them. "Oh, I'll just wait here then."

Angel led Illyria to a private spot in the hallway where they weren't likely to be overheard. Buffy was already waiting for them since Lorne had delayed Angel on their way to the hall. She pointed at Illyria angrily. "You don't interrupt our work! Understand me?"

"What is it, poison? Magicks?" Illyria demanded. "It impresses me, the power of it. Whatever you've done, it can't save you. To do anything but bow to my will is absurd, yet you conspire…." She groaned as she doubled over in pain, clutching her stomach.

"We haven't done anything to you."

"Jealous. Plankton envying the ocean that holds them."

"Yeah, that's great. Listen, I got things…."Buffy started to walk off, but Illyria grabbed Angel by the lapels and lifted him into the air. "Angel!"

"Ridiculous apes. My death won't prevent your dying. What have you done to me?!"

"Get your damn hands off me." Angel yelled.

Illyria let him go. "You do not know. Not yet. It's too early." She walked down the hallway.

Lorne walked up behind Angel as he was watching Illyria leave. "Psst. Ya gotta keep your thingy on for this to work, ok?" Angel pulled Lorne's hat off. "Oh, that's mature!"

Harmony walked up to them. "Buffy, it's getting a little shouty in your office."

"Let Gunn take care of it." Buffy said. She turned on her heel and walked away, Angel following closely. They walked into the science lab where Fred, Wesley, and Spike were working on something.

"Illyria's blown all of her gaskets!" Buffy said. "She's out of her mind."

"How can you tell?" Spike said. "Yesterday she spent 2 hours mind-melding with a potted fern."

"She thinks we're trying to kill her."

"Aren't you?" Wesley asked.

"Tell me you have something, Wes. Just anything."

Fred unlatched a large box. "She's unstable." Wesley pressed buttons on the laptop as Fred went to him. "Overloading, to be accurate. The fusion between her demon essence and her host's body seems to be deteriorating. It's as if the human part of her can't contain the demonic power inside her anymore." Fred looked at something through a magnifying lens.

"We're thinking that she cracked her engine block and now she's leakin' petrol all over the building." Spike clarified.

"She's going to self-destruct, violently, and soon." Wesley said.

"And you were gonna tell us this when?" Buffy asked.

"I wasn't. Fred and I were dealing with it."

"And I'm helping where I can." Spike said proudly. "We're motivated go-getters."

"The good news is the crack in her engine block may give us a chance to get to her." Fred said. She took a large metallic weapon out of the box on the table. "This is a Mutari generator. It creates a pinhole to an infinite extra-dimensional space, a negatively charged pocket universe, that should draw her radiant essence, her power, into itself, by process of a…."

"Fred!" Buffy interrupted. "Will it kill her?"

"Yes." Wesley said. "Shall we go?"

"We have to find out where she…." Angel started.

Spike grabbed the laptop and showed the display to Angel and Buffy. "Oh, here." The display showed a blue dot moving through a map of the building. "Training room, looks like. And gushin' petrol like a geyser."


	83. Chapter 83

Chapter 83

Wesley led Fred, Buffy, Angel, and Spike down the hallway holding the weapon over his arm. "So what sort of damage are we lookin' at if Illyria Chernobyls on us?" Spike asked.

"A conservative guess would probably be several city blocks." Fred said.

"And what about unconservative?" Buffy asked.

"Rand and McNally will have to redraw their maps." Wesley said as they walked into the training room.

Lorne was standing outside the training room. "Is she in there?" Buffy asked.

"Do you even know how to use this thing?" Lorne asked Angel, holding up the walkie-talkie. They all walked into the training room, but there didn't appear to be anyone but them in the room. "That's funny. I didn't even see her leave."

"Well, that's the problem." Spike said. "You don't always see her when she's…." He suddenly exploded into ash and Illyria appeared where Spike had been. She bent over, clutching her stomach.

"Spike!" Buffy cried.

"Illyria!" Wesley yelled.

"Wes, do it now." Angel said.

Illyria kicked Angel in the face, sending him across the room. She grabbed two daggers off the wall and hurled them at Wesley and Fred, piercing them in their chests. They fell to the ground on top of each other. She sent her fist through Lorne's chest. Buffy screamed and attacked Illyria. They fought brutally, but Illyria was stronger and Buffy wasn't thinking clearly. Illyria took the dagger out of Wesley and stabbed Buffy in the heart. Buffy watched as her blood drained out of her in bright red gushes and fell to the floor, her eyes catching Angel's before she died.

Angel vamped out and jumped through the air, lunging at Illyria, but not before she grabbed a battle-axe from the wall. She swung it at him, slicing off his head. Angel turned to ash. Illyria stood in the center of the room, holding the dagger and surveying her handiwork with a smile. Then she clutched her stomach, doubling over in pain. When Illyria looked up, she found herself in the hallway talking to Angel and Buffy.

"We haven't done anything to you." Buffy said.

"Jealous. Plankton envying the ocean that holds them." Illyria said.

"Yeah, that's great. Listen, I got things…."

Illyria grabbed Angel by the lapels, lifting him into the air. "Ridiculous apes. My death won't prevent your dying. What have you done to me?!"

"Get your damn hands off me." Angel yelled. Illyria doubled over in pain, clutching her stomach. When Illyria recovered, she found herself in Wesley's office having just knocked a glass of water off of his desk. But this time, Angel was there with her.

"Are you all right?" Wesley asked.

"No, I'm not all right." Angel said. "What the hell did you do to me?" He yelled at Illyria.

"Angel."

"You weren't here before." Illyria said to Angel.

"Who…. where did…. what just happened?" Wesley asked.

"An aberration in the time line. It wasn't like this…." Illyria doubled over, clutching her stomach and screaming in agony. She recovered to find herself in the basement of the suburban house where Gunn was imprisoned and Angel was there.

Angel started freaking out, looking around the basement. "Damn it! What the hell was this?"

"You followed me."

Angel saw Gunn lying on the table, still wearing the necklace. "Gunn?"

"You've been swept up in my wake."

"This is the holding dimension."

"How did you worms accomplish this?"

"We didn't. We…. accomplish what?"

"You ripped me out of linear progression, tore my time line into shreds, and stitched it back together out of sequence."

"Are you kidding?!"

"You caged me in this fractured time frame, in moments that repeat themselves over and over without deviation. But I don't say these words. I rip the necklace off. I lift him from the table. We speak. And the demon attacks again." Illyria punched the demon. "Is it of your sciences? How do you unweave time in this way?"

"This isn't us. We don't have the power to do…."

Illyria punched Angel, sending him flying across the room. "Do you know what you were when I was young? You were the muck at our feet. We called you 'the ooze that eats itself.' You were pretty at night. You sparkled, and you stank. You still stink of it!"

"Will you just shut up for once?!"

"What?"

"My God, the speechifying. Has it ever occurred to you that now might not be the best time for when-we-were-muck stories?"

"You dare to speak to me in this…."

"Yes, I dare. And, yes, we are looking for a way of controlling you any way that we can. We can't have an X factor like you bouncing around unchecked."

"Bouncing around?!"

"Yes, and I know you would do the same thing. I know that for a fact. But this is mine and Buffy's kingdom, lady, not yours!"

"Your kingdom! I am Illyria, god-king of the primordium, shaper of things!"

"Yeah, well, that was then!" Illyria doubled over in pain, screaming. When she recovered, Illyria found herself in the training room. Angel was there with her, but so were the bodies of Buffy, Lorne, and Wesley. "This is…" Angel looked around the room. "Now."

"Yes. Nothing's what it used to be, is it?"

"No!" Angel fell to his knees, holding Buffy's dead body to him as tears fell down his cheeks. "God, no! Buffy! Come on, baby!"

"These are the fruits of your attempt to murder me. Your kingdom turned to ash and stale wind. I slew the white-haired one first."

"This can't be."

"And then Fred and Wesley, as he raised his weapon…. and your demon clown as he wilted in terror. And then your beloved Slayer-queen fought me, but in the end it was I that won over her."

"And I'm next."

"No, vampire." Illyria threw her dagger into a pile of dust that used to be Angel. "You were last."

"Why?"

"You know nothing of this. You're from an earlier point in the time line. You are a paradox. You're impossible."

"We attacked you?"

"I didn't give you the chance. That you learn when you become a king." Illyria doubled over, holding her head. "You learn to destroy everything that's not utterly yours. All that matters is victory. That's how your reign persists. You're a slave to an insane construct. You are moral. A true ruler is as moral as a hurricane, empty but for the force of his gale." She groaned and doubled over again, holding her head. "But you two…. trapped in the web of the Wolf, the Ram, the Hart. So much power here, and you quibble at its price. If you want to win a war, you must serve no master but your ambition." She doubled over again, still holding her head. "Oh, you have not lied. My undoing is beyond you, your people. Something is broken inside me. Aaah! My power is too great! I know this now, as I know it every time I come to this moment."

"Illyria, if I'm here, if I am paradox, then this can all change, can't it?" Angel said, still holding Buffy. "You said things had been altered, what you said, what you did. You can change this outcome!"

"Change is constant. Yet things remain the same." A glowing blue fracture appeared in Illyria's cheek. Her body started cracking apart, shooting out blue light everywhere. She exploded, sending Angel back in the force of the explosion.

When Angel recovered, he found himself doubled-ever in pain, groaning in the hallway while Buffy, Fred, Wesley, and Spike walked with the weapon toward Illyria in the training room.

"So what sort of damage are we lookin' at if Illyria Chernobyls on us?" Spike asked.

"A conservative guess would probably be several city blocks." Fred said. She turned to see what Angel was groaning about.

"Angel?" Buffy asked, helping him stand.

"Buffy!" He grabbed her to him and kissed her deeply. "You're alive!"

"Yeah."

"Illyria, she's self-destructing. She's a time bomb."

"Read today's paper, did ya?" Spike asked as he turned to continue walking.

"What?"

"We've been yapping about bloody nothing but that for the last 10 minutes."

"No, no, no. I just left a meeting with Illyria. She grabbed me, and we phased through time. I don't think she actually meant to do it. She's overloading. She's gonna explode."

"Yes, we know." Wesley said. "Angel, we've been over all this."

Lorne scoffed, holding up the walkie-talkie. "Do you even know how to use this thing?" He followed them inside. "She's come unstuck in time, Wes." Angel continued. "She knows what happens. She's seen it. She knows we want to kill her."

"Yeah, she said that to me as well." Wesley said.

Angel looked around the room, realizing that the 5 whom Illyria will kill were all there together now. "Oh, guys…. this isn't good."

"Well, that's funny. I didn't even see her leave." Lorne said.

"Well, that's the problem." Spike started.

"'Slew the white-haired one first.'" Angel said to himself.

"Don't always see her when she's…."

Angel rushed Spike to move him out of the way just as Illyria appeared. She ended up staking Angel instead, but he didn't explode into ash. "Angel!" Buffy yelled.

Angel winced from the pain of being stabbed. "Wait…. wait…." He pulled the stake out of his side. "Illyria, wait. Please. Wes, put that thing down. Spike, nobody move."

"This, too…. all changing." Illyria winced as she suffered another attack of pain and clutched her head.

"I know what happens. I know you kill us all."

"Oh, a bit pessimistic, aren't you?" Spike asked.

"And then you shudder, and you convulse with pain, and then the power inside you explodes."

"You are the Angel from the past. You were swept up in my wake."

"You're not a king anymore. Your domain is gone, swallowed by time."

"And we've had this conversation."

"You explode. I was there. It was powerful enough to blow me back through time. I have no idea what it does to the building."

"More like the continental shelf, actually." Fred said.

"I have to stop that. Do you understand? I cannot have your death blow away my…."

"Your kingdom?!"

"Yeah, sure, whatever."

"You ask me to allow you to murder me."

"It's not murder if you say yes." Buffy offered.

"No one is murdering you." Fred said. "This device won't kill you."

"What? Wesley said…."

"I lied." Wesley looked at Illyria. "Illyria, this device will draw the energy away from you safely. It will allow you to live."

"Your intent is not murder." Illyria said.

"It never was."

"Well, no harm, no foul." Lorne said.

"But you tried to destroy me to bring back Dawn." Illyria said.

"That didn't work. It was a failure. But now I know you're all that's left." Wesley said.

"You want to take my power…. to let me live. But I am my power. And I would rather be a titanic crater than to be like unto you." Illyria kicked Wesley in the stomach, sending him flying across the room. Spike kicked her in the face. "I kill you. That's how this ends." She charged at Spike, but he grabbed her and flung her away from him into a wall.

"What?! Gettin' ahead of ourselves a bit." Spike said. He charged at Illyria, but with a wave of her hand, she slowed time in the room. She stood to walk out, but the pain in her stomach happened again, causing her to double over in pain, losing her focus and restoring the speed of time in the room. Spike landed against the wall, but got to his feet.

"Illyria, the future can change here." Angel said, getting to his feet. "You can choose a different path."

"And be nothing." Illyria said.

"And be what you are. Fighting to hold on to what you were…. it's destroying you."

Illyria looked at Wesley, who was standing holding the weapon again. "You would do this to me."

"I'd try anyway. Every time." Wesley said.

"I possess so much grace, more grace than this bag of sticks could express. I was the immaculate embodiment of rule." A glowing blue fracture appeared in Illyria's cheek. Her body started cracking apart, shooting out blue light everywhere. "I blame this on the weakness of your species."

"Fair enough." Wesley aimed the weapon at Illyria, pulling the trigger. The weapon shot out a beam of light, hitting Illyria in her stomach. It drew the blue light energy from her into the weapon. Wesley continued using the weapon on Illyria until all the fractures in her body re-sealed themselves. When he turned off the weapon, Illyria collapsed to the floor, convulsing for a moment. He approached her cautiously. "Illyria…."

"Touch me and die, vermin."

"Not a very dramatic difference, really." Spike said.

"Everything is different." Wesley said.

* * *

Everyone had left Illyria alone in the training room, but Buffy, Angel, and Wesley remained to watch her through the observation window. She hadn't moved from her position on the floor.

"So what's the prognosis?" Angel asked.

"She won't be stopping time…. or walking through dimensions. And I suspect her physical strength has decreased somewhat." Wesley said.

"That's what I wanted to hear." Buffy said. "You're gonna stay with her, aren't you?"

"Yes." Buffy started to walk out, but Wesley's voice stopped her. "She could still prove to be problematic for us. Much of what she was is still intact. I doubt she'll ever stop trying to conquer…. everything."

"'Serve no master but your ambition.'" Angel said.

"What's that?"

"I think you may have been right before…. about Illyria being a resource." Angel looked at Buffy and then back at Wesley. "She just might make the team yet." He followed Buffy out and back into the lobby. The demons argued with Gunn outside the conference room while Amanda waited inside alone.

"We sought this child for decades. We're not letting go of it now!" One of the Brethren yelled.

"Only the mother's consent will sanctify this transaction." Gunn said.

"That's exactly what we have."

"Oh yeah? Show it to me."

"It's an agreement in principle. The child is ours."

"I can tear that apart in a courtroom. Just watch me."

"But we're paying you!"

"We're not taking your money!" While Gunn argued with some of the brethren, the demon leader was talking with Hamilton.

"I understand, Your Holiness. Fully." Hamilton said.

"If this gets fouled here by that lunatic, our hordes will fall on this place. There won't be so much as an eyetooth left of any of them!" The leader said.

"Yes, well, that would be more…. Buffy's business than mine." Hamilton gestured to Buffy, who had just walked into the lobby with Angel.

"She won't make it through another day." One of the demons yelled at Gunn.

"You think we can't protect her?!" Gunn yelled back.

"The Fell are everywhere. We are a force of nature."

"Gunn." Buffy said, her voice taking on a hardened tone no one had ever heard from her. "The baby belongs to the Fell."

"What?" Gunn scoffed. "She hasn't signed anything. There's nothing on paper."

Buffy ignored Gunn's protest and turned to the Brethren with a smile. "Gentlemen." She walked into the conference room, followed by the demon Brethren.

"Angel!" Angel kept walking by Gunn, ignoring him. Buffy stood at the door, getting ready to shut it. "What are you doing?"

"What we're supposed to." Buffy said calmly. "Serve our clients." She walked into the conference room, closing the door in Gunn's face.


	84. Chapter 84 NEW

A/N Ok, I've made you wait long enough. Here's the last 6 chapters. I hope you've all enjoyed this story. I've never had this much fun writing a story before.

* * *

Chapter 84

Buffy walked backwards out of the bathroom and giggled. Angel was playing with her hips, pulling her back towards him and kissing her while walking forwards. They had just spent an hour in the shower together and they were both dripping wet. Instead of grabbing their towels, they had made love on the counter next to the sink.

Unbeknownst to anyone else, Angel had talked to Lindsey about his soul. Turns out, Buffy's theory had been right. Angel's soul had been turned into his body, therefore binding it to him for good. They hadn't told anyone about it because they needed everyone to believe that they were having sex because he was Angelus. It was working too.

Ever since Buffy had chosen the Fell Brethren over the safety of the baby and slammed the door in Gunn's face, everyone was different towards her. Even Connor acted like she had chosen the dark side of the force. She hated that part, but it would be over soon. They would be in the Circle and things would go from there.

"Angel, no! Not the bed." Buffy laughed as he pushed her towards it. "We're wet."

"We can buy a new bed." Angel chuckled, kissing her.

"Those are 800 count, Egyptian cotton sheets. You'll ruin them."

"Floor it is then!" Angel wrapped his arms around her waist and shoulders and toppled backwards. They went down in a laughing heap.

Buffy curled up on Angel's side, still wrapped in his arms, and slipped her leg between his. "Oh, I didn't know shower sex could be so much fun."

Angel chuckled. "There's a lot I need to teach you, then." He sighed. "There's a lot we have to do before I can start teaching you, though."

"The Circle?" Angel nodded. "Wow, for the last…." Buffy looked around for a clock, but she couldn't see the time from her point of view. "Very…. VERY long moment I haven't had a single coherent thought. I actually forgot about them." Angel smiled, but it quickly melted into a brooding face. "Oh, no! No. No you don't."

"What?"

"Don't start getting all broody on me now. Not after…."

Angel slid her up his chest and kissed her. "I could never be broody after that. I was just thinking."

"Which leads to brooding."

"No. Not this time." There was a long pause and then Angel said, "I know I've spent years fighting to get somewhere…. to accomplish something…. We both have…. And now that we're close to it…. I don't like what I see…." He looked at her with serious, sad eyes. "What we are."

Buffy sighed. "I don't either. But, it's like they say…."

"What do they say?"

"Whatever's good for the greater good."

Angel nodded and smiled. "I can't feel my legs."

Buffy laughed. "Is that my fault?" She started to move her leg, but Angel pinned it between his.

"No, it's both of our faults. They're…. what did you call it?…. Pleasantly numb."

Buffy smiled seductively up at him. "So, you're saying they're too numb to…."

Angel was suddenly on top of her. "Never." He leaned down and kissed her passionately.

* * *

Buffy, Angel, and Gunn walked out of Angel's office into the lobby where Hamilton was escorting a business woman. "Ah! There's the woman herself. Buffy, I'd like you to meet Senator Brucker." 

Buffy reached out with a bright smile and shook the Senator's hand. "Senator, welcome to Wolfram & Hart."

"Oh, I go way back with this firm, back when Holland Manners was in charge." The Senator said.

"I think you'll find things have changed a bit since then." Gunn said, extending a hand. "Charles Gunn."

"Head of our legal department." Hamilton said.

"And this is….?" The Senator asked, looking at Angel appreciatively.

"This is Angelus. He's president of Wolfram and Hart. He helps Buffy run this place."

"Ah, the infamous Angelus."

"Angel's fine." Angel said with a smile.

The Senator turned to a well-dressed man standing beside her. "Oh. And this is Ernesto. My personal…."

"Vampire."

"Aide. I always forget your kind can sense each other. Well, I believe in diversity on my staff. It was a big part of my campaign."

"How commendable." Gunn said.

"Harmony, you mind getting us some coffee?" Buffy asked.

"Coming up." Harmony said.

"Oh, thank you, no." The Senator said. "No coffee. But if it isn't any trouble, I think Ernesto might like some blood."

"Virgin, if you have it." Ernesto said. "Room temperature's fine."

"Sorry." Harmony said. "We have a no human blood policy. I can offer you something in a rodent. We have some fruity, unassuming vole…."

"Oh, I think we could make an exception to our policy this time for the senator." Hamilton said. "Couldn't we, Buffy?"

Buffy smiled. "Harmony, the lab might have something in the blood bank. Why don't you go check it out?" Gunn glared at Buffy and looked at Angel for help, but Angel was smiling at Buffy, his sexual thoughts and desire to be elsewhere with the Slayer obvious to all. Buffy winked at Hamilton, who showed a nod of approval.

"Ok. You're the boss, boss." Harmony started walking away, but stopped and turned to Buffy. "Could I maybe just have a teeny, weeny…."

"No." Buffy said.

"Just thought I'd ask."

"Well, senator, if there's anything you need, please call on me." Hamilton said. "Rest assured. You're in good hands." He smiled and left.

"Shall we?" Buffy said, gesturing towards her office. The senator and Ernesto walked with Buffy and Angel toward Buffy's office when Wesley went up to Buffy carrying a file folder.

"Buffy. There's been another fatality in Funville." He said.

"What?"

"That abandoned amusement park downtown? Third victim in as many nights. Teeth marks strongly indicate a Boretz demon." Illyria and Spike were in the lobby now and walked up to Wesley, Buffy, and Angel.

"Oh, bloody Boretz." Spike said. "Nasty buggers. Stink to high heaven. Dress as transients to prey on the homeless, poor sods."

"This last victim was a teenage girl. A runaway. She was ripped apart."

Buffy looked at Angel and shrugged. "Well, there's not much we can do about it now, huh?" She turned back toward her office.

"Buffy, we need to find this demon and destroy it before…."

"Somebody else dies? Yeah. I know, Wes. People are dying every day all over. This girl is just one more statistic."

"Stacey. The statistic's name was Stacey Bluth." He held out a printout.

"Well, you know, we can't save everybody, and we can't sweat the small stuff." Angel said, handing the printout back to Wesley without much of a glance.

"Small?"

"Wes, I have a United States senator waiting for me." Buffy said. "So, just find out whatever you can about this Boretz thing and we'll talk later, ok?" She and Angel walked in the office and shut the door. Everyone was gathered in the conference room and the TV screen was displayed. "Let's get started, shall we?" Buffy smiled and sat down, making sure Gunn saw how close and how mildly provocative she Angel were sitting.

The Senator pushed the play button. The video was a patriotic and warm-fuzzy advertisement for Mike Conley for U.S. Senate. It was a montage of evocative scenes: soldiers marching in formation, a man preparing to fly a jet, soldiers hugging each other, a man standing in his back yard looking skyward, jets flying over in formation, an American flag waving, the man standing in his back yard was there with his wife, children, and dog, the wife and daughter were playing Frisbee, and the man's son ran to hug him.

Over all of it, the announcer said, "A Gulf War veteran and Bronze Star recipient, Mike Conley believes ethics and integrity matter…. finding solutions to problems in our educational system, health and childcare services, and Mike Conley believes in work…. and in home. Your home is his work. He's looking out for your children's interests."

The Senator pressed the stop button on the video remote and threw the remote on the table in disgust. "There. So you can see my concern."

"This Conley campaign's a juggernaut." Ernesto said. "Guy came out of nowhere with his 'Your home is his work' crap. Women voters are eating it up."

"And they were mine. I had a lock on the chick vote. And now my numbers are slipping. I didn't claw my way up from hell and get installed in a human body just to have some pedophile steal my senate seat."

"Wait…. he's a pedophile?" Gunn asked.

"Not yet. But the public better think he is when you guys get through."

"Pardon me?"

"Hell, convince Conley he is. You've got some sort of brainwashing capabilities here, don't you? What's that doctor's name?"

"Sparrow." Ernesto said.

"That's the one. This sounds right up his alley."

"Yeah, well, it's not up ours." Gunn said. "Look, I don't care what kind of services you were used to getting with this firm, but Holland Manners doesn't live here anymore. We're not about to ruin a man's life and reputation just so you can…."

"We can do it." Buffy cut Gunn off.

"What?"

Buffy looked at the senator, ignoring Gunn. "I'm not sure how long a reconditioning like that would take."

"The election's in November." Ernesto reminded.

Gunn scoffed. "You're not seriously considering…."

"Buffy, you just made yourself a very loyal ally in Washington." The Senator said.

Gunn stood up. "Buffy, we need to talk."

"I'm with the senator now, Gunn."

"Angel!?"

Angel glanced up at Gunn. "Yes?"

"You're not going to let this happen!?"

"Why would I stop it? This is our job, Gunn. This is what we do." Angel smiled his sexiest smile at the Senator, making her blush. "We serve our clients." Gunn scoffed and stormed out of the room.

* * *

Buffy and Angel were at a lunch date with Izzy the Devil. Angel and Izzy had played racquetball for an hour while Buffy had gotten a manicure and pedicure. The boys had cleaned up and met Buffy at a restaurant near to the spa where the owner was a client of Wolfram and Hart. Buffy had ordered a salad, Angel had ordered blood, and Izzy had gotten a soup. 

"Did I tell ya?" Izzy asked. "Ran into Ed the other day."

"Ed?" Buffy asked.

"The Grand Potentate whatcha-whosit of the Fell Brethren?"

"Of course. How is Ed?"

"You know the Fells. All they can talk about is the baby. The baby's doing this now. The baby's doing that. What a wonderful ritual sacrifice he'll make. Yak, yak, yak. Anyway, couldn't say enough nice things about you, gorgeous."

Buffy blushed. "Really?"

"You two are really comin' through. There's a real buzz about you guys."

"So how much longer do we have to wait for an answer?" Angel asked.

"Hey, these things take time. Trust me. Won't be long now." Izzy smiled. "I've gotta ask, speaking of babies and all, you two planning on having any hellspawn?"

"Oh, we can't…."

"You've got a son, Angel."

"It was just that one time."

"Hey, stranger things have happened. Besides, Wolfram and Hart does have a terrific science division."

Buffy smiled. "Oh, maybe we'll think about that down the line. Right now we're concentrating on work."

"Good for you. Most women make such a mistake by having a kid so young and with such a promising career ahead of them."

* * *

Drogyn was sitting on the couch while Spike sat on an end table nearby. Illyria stood opposite of them while Drogyn filled in Connor, Wesley, Fred, Xander, Gunn, and Lorne on the situation. 

"It was a Sathari…. part of a clan of demon assassins. They fell upon me last night. The poison from his 4 blades wearing heavy on my limbs."

"Yeah, rousing bit of rah-rah, mate. Get to the goods." Spike said.

"Once I bested him, I tortured the Sathari for hours until he confessed who had sent him. It was Buffy."

"Tell 'em why."

"He said Buffy and her vampire, Angelus, were afraid I'd find something in the Deeper Well, something that would uncover the truth about their involvement."

"In what?" Gunn asked.

"Helping Illyria escape from her tomb."

"I thought the release of her sarcophagus from the Deeper Well was predestined." Wesley said.

"Yeah, what about that bit?" Spike asked.

"Well, that's what I thought at the time, but now I believe…." Drogyn said. "Illyria's resurrection may have been planned."

"By Buffy and Angel." Gunn said.

"Oh, that doesn't make a lick of sense." Lorne said. "I mean, why would those two want to spring an old one?"

"I don't think that was the point." Drogyn said.

"Then what was?" Xander asked.

"Before he died, the assassin said something about a sacrifice…. someone trusted and dear."

"Are you saying that Buffy was responsible for what happened to Dawn…. Her own sister?" Connor asked in disbelief.

"They may not have chosen her specifically, but…."

"Whoa! Let's put a kibosh on that sentence before it turns into an ass-kickin'." Xander said.

"Do you think I gain pleasure in this? I held Angel an ally, a brother."

"And you think they might have murdered Dawn?" Fred asked.

"I know this is difficult for you, but they were involved. The information retrieved from the assassin…."

"You ever think maybe he was lying?" Connor snapped.

"No one lies when they're at the mercy of my wrath."

"Then you're the liar, Aragorn." Xander said.

"He has to tell the truth. It's a curse or something." Connor said.

"How can we be sure?" Gunn asked. "We don't even know this guy."

"This is Drogyn, the battlebrand, given eternal youth a thousand years ago." Wesley said. "Demonbane, truthsayer…. Watchers' Council."

"Percy did a paper. Bully on him." Spike said.

Wesley unfolded a drawing. "Drogyn…. any idea what this symbol means?"

Drogyn shook his head. "No."

"Where'd you get that?" Spike asked.

"This afternoon, someone tapped into the template interface." Wesley said. "Sent a message to me, and that symbol. Somebody's dropping clues."

"Playing games is more like it." Xander said.

"Well, put me on the short bus, but I still can't wrap my head around the notion that sweet, darling Buffy and Angel-cakes had anything to do with Dawn or any of this." Lorne said.

"Buffy and Angel have been doing a number of things out of character lately." Wesley said. "We all noticed it."

"Yeah, but why is this happening now? Why the change?"

Xander slapped his forehead. "Oh god!"

"What?" Connor asked.

"They've slept together!"

"What?" Fred asked.

"Isn't it obvious? He's Angelus and she's…."

"No." Connor said.

"It explains a lot." Wesley said.

"You bet your ass it does." Gunn said. "The way those two have been groping each other lately…."

"No. I'm with the kid." Spike said. "If he was Angelus, I'd know."

"I'd have to disagree." Wesley said. "This explains why they have the sudden need to tie up loose ends like Drogyn."

"They're preparing to make their move." Illyria said.

"What kind of move are we talking about?" Gunn asked.

"There's only one way to find out. We ask them." Wesley said.

"What makes you think, if your theory is correct, that they'll tell you their plans?" Spike asked. "Angelus isn't the most forthcoming with information without some good incentive."

"We have to try. It's the only thing we've got. Drogyn should stay here under guard."

"Well, I'm not missing the fireworks. Hey, Illyria, you don't care about any of this nonsense, do you?"

"The intricacies of your fates are meaningless." Illyria said.

"Well and good. You mind watching over our friend Drogyn? Aw, come on. New place'll do you good. It's nice and cozy. Help yourself to some beer in the fridge. Switch on the telly if you get bored." Spike handed her a video game control. "And, uh, feel free to play a little Crash Bandicoot. Give you lot something to pass the time."


	85. Chapter 85 NEW

Chapter 85

Buffy and Angel were standing at Harmony's desk reviewing a contract. Buffy crossed out something on the contract. "Strike these 4 clauses and wire it back to them. See what they make of that." Buffy said.

"Yeah! See what they make of that." Harmony said.

Wesley walked up to them with Fred, Xander, Connor, Lorne, Gunn, and Spike flanking him. "Buffy, Angel…."

"Long dinner?" Angel asked offhandedly as he followed Buffy to her office.

"We need to talk to you. Now."

"Boy's dead serious." Gunn said.

Buffy and Angel walked in and Buffy sat at her desk with Angel leaning against the chair behind her, toying with her neck. "Ok, what's on your minds?" Buffy asked.

"The question is what's on yours?" Xander asked.

"Our friend Drogyn's in town." Spike said Angel.

"Is he?" Angel asked.

"Yeah. A bit marked up, though. Somebody tried to have him killed. Know anything about that?"

"Of course not."

"Where is he?" Buffy asked.

"He's safe." Gunn said.

"Good. Now, can we get back to business, or was there something else?"

"Business? What business are we in, Buffy?"

"Do I really have to explain this to you people? We're in the business of business."

"Oil, software, worldwide wickets." Angel clarified.

Buffy waved a hand dismissively. "The product doesn't matter. It's the game that matters. Get to the top, be the best, have the most, win."

"Win what?" Connor asked.

"You're still missing the point." Angel said.

"That Angel talking?" Xander asked. "Cause it sounds a lot more like Angelus."

"Oh, if I were Angelus, half of you would already be dead, just for the fun of it."

"One of us already is."

"We havin' fun yet?" Spike asked.

Buffy sighed. "You want to know the truth? The truth is there's only one of us who ever understood how things really work."

"Lorne." Angel said.

"Whoa." Lorne said, backing up slightly. "Hey, hey, hey. Can I not be the poster child for your nervous breakdowns here?"

"You didn't judge. You didn't spend your life obsessed with good and evil. You do that, you get swallowed, lost in the minutia."

"Good, bad, Angel, Angelus…. None of it makes a difference." Buffy said. "I wish it did, but, you know, an ant with the best intentions or the most diabolical schemes is just exactly an ant. There is one thing in this business, in this apocalypse that we call a world, that matters: Power. Power tips the scale, power sets the course, and until Angel and I have real power, global power, we have nothing. We accomplish nothing."

"And how you get this power…." Wesley said.

"Isn't pretty. Isn't fun."

Angel walked up to Wesley. "You think it's Wolfram & Hart getting to us here, and maybe you're right, because they've shown us what power is."

Buffy stood and leaned on her hands splayed on her desk. "From day one, they've been calling the shots, and all we've done is get shot at. Angel and I have a chance to change that."

"And will you?" Xander asked. "I mean, not to play the broken record here, but power does usually corrupt. You get high up enough, and, well, the people, they start to look like ants."

"We can't worry about the small stuff."

Harmony walked into the office. "Buffy, that important phone call from…. that guy about that thing, it's on line three."

"We're done here. We have to take this." Angel said.

"Yeah, the guy about the thing." Spike said.

Wesley stopped on the way out and looked at Buffy. "The small stuff that you can't worry about, would that include Dawn?"

"I loved my sister."

"That's not an answer."

"Then I guess you don't get one." Angel walked over and shut the door in Wesley's face.

Buffy pressed line three, bringing Izzy to speakerphone. "Yeah?"

"You're in. The limo is waiting for you downstairs." Izzy said.

"Thank you." Buffy hung up and looked at Angel.

"Ready?" Angel asked.

"No. But we don't have a choice." Buffy stood up and grabbed her coat.

* * *

Buffy and Angel walked through a dark hallway into a chamber. They were standing in front of a raging fire in a doorway. Buffy could hear a man being beaten on the other side. Together, Buffy and Angel leapt through the fire to the chamber on the other side. There was a kneeling man being beaten by robed men with sticks. Angel pulled the beaten man to his feet, pulled off the bag over his head, and looked into the bloodied face of Drogyn.

"Thank you. Thank you."

Angel vamped out and bit Drogyn in the neck and Buffy took out a dagger and stabbed him in the other side of the neck as robed and masked men looked on. Angel drank Drogyn's blood as Drogyn moaned painfully. Angel stepped back and Buffy twisted Drogyn's head until his neck snapped. She pushed Drogyn's body to the floor and looked at Angel as she licked the powerful blood off the dagger.

A robed, masked demon's red hands glowed with a fiery symbol in each palm. Buffy pushed aside her leather jacket and the strap on her camisole and Angel unbuttoned his shirt and pushed it aside. The demon reached out to Buffy and Angel's bared chests and pressed his palms over each of their hearts, branding them. "The circle entwined." The demon said.

"Embrace this worthy son and daughter." The rest of the group intoned.

"The thorn draws blood."

"The thorn is the power, and the power is absolute."

The demon offered his hand to first Buffy then Angel. "Welcome to the fold." The lights went up in the room, and the robed demons removed their masks. Many of the demons Buffy and Angel had encountered since coming to Wolfram and Hart were there, including the Archduke Sebassis, Cyvus Vail, Sentaor Brucker, and others. There was a round of applause.

"Well done, you two." Vail said.

Izzy, the ceremony's leader, took off his mask. "See? Didn't I tell you guys it was gonna happen? And how about that lamb we got you for the slaughter, any idea who that was?"

Angel buttoned his shirt. "Drogyn. The battlebrand." Angel glanced at Buffy as she situated her low cut top and fixed her jacket. A man brought Buffy, Angel, and Izzy champagne flutes.

"Damn straight. We got you some supercharged warrior juice, not some schmuck. You must feel great." Izzy clinked glasses with Buffy and Angel. "Ok, let me introduce you two around to a few people. Some of these folks you know, some you don't. Of course, you're acquainted with the Archduke."

Sebassis kissed Buffy's knuckles. "Kudos, children." He looked at Angel. "I must say, it's gratifying to see you've returned to form, Angelus."

"I prefer Angel."

"Ah. Well, what's in a name, eh?" He looked back at Buffy. "In the spirit of our new alliance, you must allow me to throw you both a dinner party in your honor."

"You know how I love parties." Buffy said, tipping her glass toward Sebassis and sipping the champagne.

"It's nice to see you again so soon, Buffy." Senator Brucker said.

"Senator! I had no idea you were so well connected."

"Well, I'm not gonna take the White House in 2008 on just my sparkling wit and funding from hostile governments."

"I expect not." Angel said.

"Finally, a woman president!" Buffy laughed. "We've been living with these idiot men for far too long. The world would be much better with a woman situated in office." The Senator laughed with Buffy and sipped her champagne.

"Excuse us, Helen." Izzy said. "Buffy, Angel, I've got someone here who'd like to pay his respects."

"Vail." Angel said.

"You've been looking for me." Vail said.

"Actually, we've been looking like we're looking for you. Appearances, you know."

Vail laughed, wheezing. "See, Cyvus?" Izzy said. "I told you it was all good. Now why don't you three shake hands? Come on."

"No hard feelings then?" Vail asked.

"Ultimately, everything worked out for the best." Buffy said.

"Oh. Your son, he kills quite well."

"Thanks." Angel said.

"Got a great turnout for your initiation." Izzy said, slipping Buffy's hand through his arm.

"Really?" Buffy asked as she and Angel walked along with Izzy.

"Oh, yeah. Everybody's here. Here, let me freshen that up." Izzy took Buffy' drink and she and Angel looked around the room, noting the other members. Angel caught Buffy's eyes and they exchanged a satisfied, but dark look.

* * *

Angel walked off the elevator with Buffy, rubbing his branded chest, and headed straight for Buffy's office. They walked into her office without closing the door. The door closed itself, revealing Gunn standing behind it. Spike caught Angel off-guard and punched him in the face, sending him to the ground. Buffy kneeled down at Angel's side to help him up as Wesley and Lorne walked out of the conference room with Connor and Xander. They were surrounding Buffy and Angel now, each armed. Gunn had a sword, Fred had a tazer, Spike had his fists, Wesley had a shotgun, Connor had his favorite sword, Xander had a stake, and Lorne had a crossbow.

"You might wanna stay down." Spike said.

"Or what?" Angel asked as Buffy helped him to his feet. "Careful. You don't wanna get yourselves hurt."

"We know what you've been doing." Xander said.

"Giving up the baby to the Fell Brethren, working for Senator Bitch, trying to take out Drogyn to cover up what you did to Dawn." Gunn said. "Dawn! Your own sister. And for what? To get in bed with the Circle of the Black Thorn and each other?"

"So you figured it out." Buffy said.

"Yeah, a little singing from a jailbird we know…. and loathe." Lorne said.

"Lindsey?" Angel scoffed. "And you believed him."

"Doesn't have a reason to lie." Spike said.

"Doesn't need one."

"Unlike either of you?" Wesley asked.

"What we do here is our business." Buffy said. "You don't like how we conduct it, you can leave…. before we kill you."

"Kill us?" Xander asked. "Hard to believe we're having trouble trusting you."

"Just telling it like it is."

Wesley cocked his shotgun. "Then we have a problem."

"I guess we do."

Angel grabbed the shotgun barrel and pushed it away from him while kicking Wesley to the ground. Spike charged Buffy, but she punched him first. Gunn raised his sword, but Angel blocked his swing and Buffy kicked the barrel of the shotgun in Angel's hands, hitting Gunn in the head with it. Lorne pointed his crossbow at Angel and fired a shot, hitting Angel in the shoulder and Angel dropped the shotgun. Wesley pulled a pistol out of his belt, but Buffy kicked it out of his hand before he could fire it. Xander ran at Buffy, but she kicked him in the stomach, knocking him back. Connor couldn't bring himself to attack. He didn't want to believe that the woman he was coming to see as his mother was evil with Angelus. Angel grabbed Lorne around the neck and held him as a hostage, pulling Buffy to his other side.

"Are we done?" Angel asked.

"Let him go." Wesley said.

"You don't give the orders." Buffy said.

"Lorne, pull this thing out of me." Angel said. Lorne reached for the arrow sticking out of Angel's shoulder. "Easy. Not in a great mood." Lorne pulled out the arrow. "Good."

"Let's finish this."

Angel pulled a crystal out of his pocket and held it out in front of him. "Involvere." The crystal glowed and sent a force throughout the entire room. Angel let go of Lorne and looked at Buffy.

She nodded. "All right, we have 6 minutes."

"Till what?" Spike asked.

"The glamour collapses. As far as anyone outside this room is concerned, we're still at each other's throats."

"Aren't we?" Fred asked.

"Look, we don't have a lot of time, so we're gonna have to make this short. Everything you think you know, everything you've heard, is a lie."

"Why should we believe you?" Gunn asked.

"Because we're the ones who told it."

"Read any good books lately?" Angel asked Wesley.

"You sent us the message?" Wesley asked.

"And the assassin to kill Drogyn." Buffy said.

"So that part was true." Xander said.

"I knew Drogyn could handle himself." Angel said.

"We told the assassin just enough to lead Drogyn to think we played a part in resurrecting Illyria." Buffy said. "We figured he'd come here looking for allies against us."

"Why would you want us to believe you killed Dawn?" Wesley asked.

"Because they needed to believe it."

"The Black Thorn." Gunn said.

"They needed to believe our own people didn't trust us anymore." Angel said. "They needed to believe a person as good and as pure as Drogyn considered us the enemy. It was the only way to gain their confidence."

"Oh, so this whole evil Angel/evil Buffy thing has been a big scamola." Lorne said. "Hmm. I smell Oscar."

"When did this all start?" Spike asked.

"About four months ago." Buffy said.

"Buffy asked me to start looking for a way to take down Wolfram and Hart." Angel said. "Being a ghost, I could slip into anyplace I wanted. I kept running across the Circle of the Black Thorn."

"We figured they had a huge part in Wolfram and Hart and we were right."

"But we couldn't see who they were. Then, when Dawn died, we weren't gonna let that be another random horrible event in another random horrible world."

"So we decided to use it, to make her death matter. And it worked. We're in. We've seen the faces of evil. We know who the real powers in the apocalypse are."

"So, all that power tilts the scales crap….?" Gunn asked.

"It's true."

"We're in a machine." Angel said. "That machine's gonna be here long after our bodies are dust. But the Senior Partners will always exist in one form or another because mankind is weak."

"Uh, do you want me to point my crossbow at him, 'cause I think they're gonna start talking about ants again." Lorne said.

"We are weak." Buffy said. "The powerful control everything…. except our will to choose."

"Lindsey's a pathetic halfwit, but he was right about one thing." Angel said. "Heroes don't accept the way the world is. The Senior Partners may be eternal, but we can make their existence painful."

"You wanna take them on." Connor said.

"We're in a machine. The Black Thorn runs it."

"And we can bring their gears to a grinding halt, even if it's just for a moment." Buffy said.

"About time we got our hands dirty." Spike said.

"This isn't a keep-fighting-the-good-fight kind of deal. We're talking about killing every single member of the Black Thorn. We don't walk away from that."

"Do we crawl away, at least?" Lorne asked.

"If we do this, the Senior Partners will rain their full wrath." Angel said. "They'll make an example of us. We're talking full-on hell, not the basic fire-and-brimstone kind we're used to."

"We know the drill." Xander said.

"No, you don't." Buffy said. "10-to-1, we're gone when the smoke clears. They'll do everything in their power to destroy us. So…. We need you to be sure. Power endures. We can't bring down the Senior Partners, but for one bright, shining moment, we can show them that they don't own us. You need to decide for yourselves if that's worth dying for. I can't order you to do this. But I can't do it without you. So we'll vote. As a team. Think about what we're asking you to do, think about what we're asking you to give."

"Kill 'em all…. burn the house down while we're still in it." Spike said.

"Something like that."

"Huh." Spike raised his hand. "I'm in."

"I'm in." Wesley said. First Gunn, then Xander, then Connor, then Fred, and finally Lorne raised their hands.


	86. Chapter 86 NEW

Chapter 86

"Then we're all agreed." Buffy said, looking around at everyone.

"Yeah, we're all one big happy Manson family." Spike said.

"We taking 'em all at once?" Gunn asked.

"Can't." Buffy said.

"The Circle of the Black Thorn is the most powerful group in this plane of existence." Angel said. "Together, they'd vaporize us, but separated, they're just demons."

Wesley, having retrieved his shotgun, slung it over his shoulder and walked toward Buffy and Angel. "When do we make our move?"

"Soon." Buffy said. "In the meantime, we have to keep up the infighting. The Circle needs to believe we're coming apart at the seams."

"What about Illyria?" Xander asked.

"What about her?"

"Move like this, wouldn't hate having Blue Thunder in our corner."

"We can't trust she'll come down on our side."

"Trust me, she's housebroken." Spike said. "She was babysitting Drogyn…."

"She was with Drogyn?" Angel asked.

"Relax. The two of them were getting on well enough."

"You have to get over there now."

"Why? What is it?"

"Drogyn's dead." Buffy said.

"And how do you know that?" Xander asked.

"Because we killed him."

"What?" Buffy punched Spike in the face. "Ow! You bitch!" He swung at Buffy, but missed. She grabbed Spike around the throat as Hamilton walked in through the office door.

"Sorry." He said. "Didn't know you were…. in conference."

"We were just making a closing statement." Buffy said, letting go of Spike and pushing him toward the door. "Unless somebody didn't hear me." Xander, Connor, Gunn, Spike, and Lorne filed out the door. Buffy stopped Wes on his way out. "Goes for you, too, Wes. Illyria's your responsibility. Make sure she doesn't get twitchy." Angel closed the door behind the others.

"Well, you've got yourself a problem." Hamilton said.

"Nothing you have to worry about."

"Oh, not me. Your new friends. The Black Thorn. They're very concerned."

"Tell them to send us a memo. We're busy trying to run a business." Buffy sat at her desk.

"You can tell them yourselves. They want to see you both right now." Hamilton grinned and turned toward the door. "No rest for the wicked."

Buffy looked at Angel. "What do you think they want?"

"There's no telling." Angel said.

"They can't suspect…."

"I doubt it." Angel handed Buffy her coat. "Let's go, then."

* * *

In the secret meeting chamber of the Circle of the Black Thorn, the members gathered to begin a meeting, chanting in unison. "Of the world's woe, now convene. All is bound by the circle and its thorns. Invisible, inviolate, we, the seeds of the storm, at the center of the world's woe, now convene."

Sebassis, drinking a blue liquid from a champagne flute, looked at Buffy and Angel. "The Circle does not abide secrets."

"Which is interesting for a secret society." Buffy said.

"Remember your place, Slayer."

"My place…. _Our_ place is in the Circle."

"This morning's insurrection did not go unnoticed."

"You mean our people."

"They tried to kill you. An embarrassing affront, to say the least."

"And the stepping stone to disaster." Vail said. "You two have ascended. You should not be burdened with this kind of…." Vail suddenly gasped and checked his tubes. The scrawny, pale slave wearing a blindfold was tripping over Vail's tubes. "Sebassis! Your manservant has become tangled in my bodily fluids again!"

Angel leaned forward and pushed the slave away from Vail. "Our people are the problem?"

"Some of them, yes." Sebassis said.

"Some? Who missed the cut?" Buffy asked.

"We're interested in Mr. Wyndam-Price. He seems intriguingly unstable." Vail said.

"Mr. Gunn, on the other hand, does not, which is a pity." Senator Brucker said. "He had so much potential."

"He is not, however, our greatest concern." Sebassis said.

"If the next words out of your mouth are 'Kill Spike', we just might have to kiss." Angel said.

"Spike is not the threat. The Slayer is."

"Me?" Buffy asked.

"You've proven your loyalty to the circle…."

"So what's the problem?"

"Your soul." Buffy lifted an eyebrow in confusion. "As long as you have yours, he has his. There's something stronger than loyalty…. hope."

"And my soul is hope?" Buffy shook her head. "I brought him out! He's Angelus because of me. He has no taste for souls."

"We realize this. But there's a chance your soul could get in the way."

"So, what?"

"Get rid of it."

"Get rid of it?"

"Yes. It's time you're truly one of us."

"The vampire with a soul will play a pivotal role in the apocalypse." The Senator said.

"And as a reward, will become human." Vail said.

"The Slayer is the key to that reward." Sebassis said, unrolling an ancient scroll. " 'One born of Light but touched by Darkness. One born of Darkness but touched by light. Neither death, nor time, nor the destruction of this very world can keep their souls from each other. Together, the Darkness and the Light will play a key role in the Apocalypse and the Darkness will be led by the Light into remuneration.'" Sebassis looked up from the scroll. "As long as she has her soul…. Her Light if you will…. A paranoid person might think you two are trying to manipulate us in an attempt to fulfill this prophecy."

"I have no desire to become human." Angel said.

"Oh, good. Then you won't mind tossing that pesky future away."

"As loyal as I am to the Circle, I won't go against my own boundaries when turning a human. I won't go against the boundaries I have set for the Slayer. Turning a Slayer has never been done and I want everything to be perfect." Angel reached over and lifted Buffy's hair to reveal the scar that was freshly opened. "She's well on her way and it won't be long until she's fully ready to become my mate for eternity."

Sebassis sighed. "We cannot trust her loyalty."

"I can and that should be good enough for the Circle. She brought me out willingly. She asked me to seek you out. She's the one behind this vision."

Vail nodded reluctantly. "Very well. However, in the future, if we have questions of the Slayer's loyalty, we will request this again and it will be done."

"If not by you, then by a vampire of our choosing." Sebassis said.

"Agreed." Angel said.

* * *

Angel stood in Buffy's office staring out the window. Buffy's hands were shaking from the close call with the Circle as she paced in front of the window. Her hands fidgeted around to try and keep them from shaking so bad.

"Talk to me." Angel said.

"That…. Was too close."

"It's thwarted for now."

"For now. You know, I know I said it wouldn't come to it and if it did, I could go through with it…. But, I…."

Angel grabbed her shaking hands, stopping her in her tacks, and looked in her eyes. "I know. And I would've blown our cover to protect you from that fate."

Buffy looked down. "I was…. Scared."

Behind them, Harmony walked in. "Buffy? Just wondering where everybody is." Buffy shrugged. "Something's going down, isn't it? And everybody's in on it except me."

"You're not a part of this."

"I could be. I'm your assistant, after all. I could, I don't know…. assist you or something."

"Hamilton." Angel said.

"Hamilton?" Buffy and Harmony asked.

"Buffy and I need to get some things done, pay a quiet visit to Archduke Sebassis. I'd like to keep our liaison out of the loop."

"Out of the loop? That's where I live." Harmony said.

"Distract him. I don't care how. Throw some punches at him, some files. Just keep him busy for as long as you can." Angel walked toward the door with Buffy.

"What are you guys going to do now?"

"One more thing we don't want to."

* * *

Buffy and Angel were meeting with Lindsey. Angel was pacing and Buffy was sitting at the head of the conference table playing with her nails nervously. Lindsey was sitting at the conference table to Buffy's right watching the two of them.

"You gotta be joking." Lindsey said. "Why on God's green and verdant Earth would I trust you two, huh? Or you two, me?"

"Cause it's not about us, Lindsey. It's about them. The wolf. The ram. The hart. The ones we've been fighting against forever." Angel said.

"You can't beat 'em."

"Maybe they're not there to be beat. Maybe they're there to be fought. Maybe fighting them is what makes human beings so remarkably strong."

"You're not talking about the kind of strength human beings have. This is not about coveting your neighbor's ass, your buddy's job, the last Mallomar in the box. You two're talking about fighting flesh and something that passes for blood demons with enormous power, and they will mow you down."

"Maybe…."

"You know, I keep thinking that once this world was theirs and now it's not." Buffy said.

"Isn't it?"

"Give us the hell on Earth speech, Lindsey." Angel said. "We know how bad things are, how much sway the demons hold. I happen to be the greatest mass murderer you've ever met."

"Never given you props for that, have I?"

"There's always going to be power, and there's always going to be corruption."

"So again I ask you…."

"Cause it's not what we're expected to do. Cause you're good in a fight. And let's say we come up rolling 7s and this does go our way. We tear up this firm, someone's going to have to step in. I know that's what you want. Now, we're a lot more comfortable with the thought of you in that position than anyone else."

"The devil you know."

"That'd be you."

"And what if you roll snake eyes?"

"You'll talk your way out of it. You'll tell them I forced you to help us. Tell them I made my scary face."

"Believe it or not, I was actually talking about you two. You guys don't care about being squashed like a bug?"

"I really hate it when they compare me with bugs." Buffy said.

"You haven't heard a word we've said." Angel said. "For, like, years back."

"Well, you get a little speechy, all right?" Lindsey said. "And I breeze out. I got the Cliff Notes: honor and humanity. Absolute good. I heard it. So here's the plot twist. I'm in."

"Why?" Buffy asked.

"Everybody goes on about his soul. Vampire with a soul. And everyone goes on about how you're the greatest Slayer that ever lived and the two of you together…. It makes a demon tremble in fear. This is gonna be a circus. I mean, win or lose, you two're about to pick the nastiest fight since mankind drop-kicked the last demon out of this dimension. And that you don't do without me. If you want me, I'm on your team."

"I want you, Lindsey." Angel said. Buffy and Lindsey stared at Angel. "I'm thinking about rephrasing that."

"Yeah, I think I'd be more comfortable if you did."

"Me too." Buffy added.

* * *

Wesley, Spike, Xander, Fred, Connor, and Gunn were standing in a circle, talking, while Lorne sat in a chair in the corner, watching Illyria. Buffy and Angel stood near the doorway. "How's she doing?" Buffy asked.

"She needs more care than I can provide here." Wesley said. "I have to get some supplies from home. Watch over her for me." Wes grabbed his coat.

"Fat lotta good that's gonna do if Hamilton decides to make another house call." Spike said.

"Hamilton did this?" Angel asked.

"You didn't know?" Lorne asked.

"He brought Drogyn." Buffy said.

"To the Circle." Wesley said. "So you two could kill him to prove you'd gone over."

"Yeah." Xander said. "Say, any other tips on how to be a hero we could share with the boys and girls at home?"

"We didn't have a choice. They would've killed us both…." Buffy started.

"We get it." Gunn said. "We'd just like to know if they're gonna need any of the rest of us as proof."

"Pick us off one by one, you know." Spike said.

Buffy looked at Angel and then back at the room. "No, they won't. We're killing them all tonight." Before anyone could say anything, Buffy continued. "Listen, I want you all to do something for us, for yourselves. Take the day off."

"What?" Fred asked.

"Buffy, if we're planning to assassinate the power elite of the apocalypse tonight, shouldn't we be cowboying up?" Gunn asked.

"We'll be ready, but today, Angel and I want you guys to go out. Live. Do whatever you want. Live the day like it's your last…. Cause it probably is." Buffy said.

"How are you going to spend it?" Spike asked, raising an eyebrow. "Planning on turning him into Angelus for real?"

"We can't." Angel said.

"I know you can't. But that doesn't mean you won't."

"No, he means Angelus is no more. Angel's soul is bound." Buffy said.

"What? How?" Xander asked.

"Lindsey's spell."

"Buffy was right about it." Angel said. "It turned the soul into the body. My soul is my body, so it's bound to me."

"And how long have you two known?" Fred asked.

"Since we brought Lindsey back from Wolfram and Hart's holding dimension." Buffy said. "Angel asked him about it."

"Why didn't you tell us?"

"We needed you to believe that I had let him out. If you believe it, the Circle believed it."

"Can't they smell his soul on him?" Spike asked.

"No." Angel said. "That's thanks to a spell Willow sent over."

"Willow?" Connor asked. "She's in on this?"

"She knew most of the plan." Buffy said. "She astraled over here when she finally heard about Dawn. I told her about all of it."

"Are they…. Are they coming to help us?" Fred asked.

"I don't think so. She doesn't know that this is going down tonight."

"Will you tell her?" Connor asked.

"It wouldn't help us. They wouldn't get here in time." Buffy smiled. "Go on, guys. Live your lives."


	87. Chapter 87 NEW

Chapter 87

Buffy and Angel drove to the Hyperion to spend the day together. Connor had asked if he could stay with Illyria and take care of her. Everyone else had gone about their business. Fred and Wesley were spending the day together. Gunn had gone off to see Anne, Xander had gone to his apartment to call Willow and chat with her all day, and no one knew where Spike and Lorne were headed.

Angel led Buffy up to his old room and shut the door. She laid down on the bed and looked at the ceiling. Angel removed his shoes and then helped Buffy out of hers before laying down next to her on the bed. He reached out and grasped her hand as they stared at the ceiling together.

"Do you think…." Buffy started, but stopped herself.

"What?"

"Do you think if we make it through this, you'll shanshu?"

"I don't know."

Buffy turned and propped her head up on her hand, looking at Angel. "If we make it through this and you do…. What would you do with your life?"

Angel looked up at her thoughtfully. "I don't know." He reached up and stroked her face. "I would probably marry you and have children."

"I wonder what will happen to the Slayer compound in England and Faith's place in Cleveland."

"There's no telling. But I'm sure Willow's thought of it and it's protected by now."

"Good." Buffy laid back down and stared at the ceiling. "Would I make a good mother?"

"I know you'd make a great mother."

"I hope we get the chance to find out."

Angel lifted her hand to his lips and kissed her knuckles tenderly. "I do too." After a long, quiet moment, Angel looked over at Buffy. "Are you scared?"

"A little bit." She looked back at him, tears glistening in her eyes. "I'm more nervous than anything. I'm scared for our friends, though."

"Me too." Angel scooted a closer to Buffy so the entire length of their arms and legs touched. He propped himself up on his elbow and looked down at Buffy. After a long moment of stroking her hair and the side of her face, he leaned his head down and kissed her passionately. Buffy snaked her arms up around his neck, pulling her body flush against his, and kissed him back as his hands began to roam over her body.

* * *

Everyone had reassembled in Spike's apartment. Wesley, Spike and Gunn were sitting down while Angel paced the floor. Buffy leaned against the wall and watched Angel pace. Illyria was standing behind Wesley and Fred stood to his right. Lorne was sitting on the edge of a table off to the side and Connor stood by the doorway.

"This may come out a little pretentious, but…. one of you will betray us." Angel said. Spike raised his hands eagerly. "Wes."

Spike deflated. "Oh." He put his hand down, then suddenly hopeful, asked, "Can I deny you three times?"

"Vail is the sorcerer of the bunch." Buffy said. "Wesley, you know that game. He believes you'd make a play for our spot."

"That's not very flattering." Wesley said.

"It'll get you in the door." Angel said.

"Illyria and Connor" Buffy said. "Izzerial the Devil and three other members of the circle dine together almost every night."

"I'll make trophies of their spines." Illyria said.

"Good to have you on the team."

"As long as I get to use my lucky sword, I'm cool." Connor said.

"Gunn and Xander."

"Yo." Gunn said.

"Senator Brucker has a campaign office in west L.A. You guys already know she's pure hellspawn, and she tends to surround herself with vampires."

"I was hoping it'd be vamps. I haven't dusted nearly enough this year." Gunn looked at Spike. "No offense."

"That's all right." Spike said.

Xander nodded. "The first thing I ever faced could be the last. Nice."

Buffy smiled at him and then looked at Spike. "Spike."

"Right." Spike stood up. "First off, I'm not wearing any amulets. No bracelets, broaches, beads, pendants, pins, or rings."

"Fine. All you need is a rattle."

"Ah, the baby."

"And a legion of the Fell Brethren. I want the kid returned to his mother and the foster family dismembered."

"Done and done."

"Archduke Sebassis has over 40,000 demons at his command. The other members of the council fear him. He's the key player, so he's mine and Angel's. Lorne…."

"Uh, I'm not a fighter, sugarcakes." Lorne said. "I never had the stomach for it. Looks like I'm your weak link."

"We just need you and Fred to back up Lindsey."

"I still can't believe you brought him in." Wesley said.

"He's part of this." Angel said. "It'll be just as dangerous for him as it will be for everyone else on our team. Only he won't be part of the team when it's over."

"Why?" Lorne asked.

Angel took out a handgun and handed it to Lorne. "As soon as you're done, I want you to get Fred to safety. Take her to the airport and get her on a plane to London."

"London?" Fred asked. "But the compound won't be safe."

"Willow and the coven put a massive cloaking spell on it that not even Wolfram and Hart can penetrate, let alone detect." Xander said. "You'll be safe."

"So I guess we're not going back to the office after this." Gunn said.

"The alley just north of the Hyperion." Angel said. "Everyone who makes it meets there. If we do any damage at all, the Senior Partners are gonna rain hell on us. So be ready."

Lorne pulled Buffy and Angel aside. "Hey, guys, uh, I'll do this last thing for you, for us…. but then I'm out, and you won't find me in the alley afterwards. Hell, you won't find me at all. Do me a favor. Don't try." He walked out.

Wesley grabbed his coat and walked toward the door with Xander, Fred, Connor, Gunn, and Illyria. "The day went by fast, huh?" Gunn asked.

"Try not to die." Illyria said to him. "You are not unpleasant to my eyes."

"Uh, thanks. You…. try not to die, too." Gunn shook hands with Wesley. "Later, then."

Xander shook hands with Wesley and hugged Buffy tightly before following Gunn out. Wesley looked at Buffy and Angel for a long moment before he walked out. Fred hugged Buffy and Angel tightly and followed Wesley. Illyria, Spike, Buffy, Connor, and Angel were the only ones left in the apartment now.

"What do you think all this means for that Shanshu bugaboo?" Spike asked. "If we make it through this, does one of us get to be a real boy?"

"Who are you kidding?" Angel asked. "We're not gonna make it through."

"Well, long as it's not you." Spike smiled at Buffy's glare. "I'm kidding." He leaned down and kissed her gently. "Just for old times sake, pet. In case I don't see you when it's all said and done."

"See you later Spike." Buffy said pointedly as he walked out.

Connor looked at Buffy and Angel. "See you in the alley, then."

Angel stepped up and embraced his son tightly. Connor pulled Buffy into the embrace and they stood there for a minute, holding each other.

Illyria looked at Buffy. "I could take the form of Dawn for you."

"No." Buffy shook her head. "I don't…. I can't. It would be like I'm saying goodbye to a lie. I've said my goodbyes to my sister and I'll leave it at that."

"Very well."

"Come on, Blue." Connor said. He kissed Buffy's cheek and walked out.

Buffy looked up at Angel. "Well, let's do this, shall we?"

Angel smiled and held out his arm. Buffy looked at him curiously. "Well, I am a gentleman, aren't I?" He took her hand and put it in the crook of his elbow. Buffy slid her hand up his forearm and into his hand, grasping it tightly.

* * *

Buffy and Angel stepped off the elevator into the lobby, where Harmony was waiting at her desk.

"Harmony, where's Hamilton?" Buffy asked.

"Records room. I've been keeping him busy like you said." Harmony said.

"Good. Angel and I have gotta stop buy the penthouse, but have our car ready, and just make sure Hamilton stays busy."

Harmony smiled and wrote something down in her notebook. "No problemo, boss."

Angel held the door open to Buffy's office and then shut it behind them. "She's definitely betraying us." He said.

"She never was a convincing liar."

They got on the private elevator into Buffy's apartment and headed inside. Angel made a beeline for a fancy wooden box on the table while Buffy headed into her bedroom to change into more slay-worthy clothing. Angel opened the box and took out a knife with a curved blade. While examining the knife, Angel heard a door close behind him.

Hamilton had just walked in. "Going out?"

"Why? You wanna order in?" Angel asked.

Hamilton walked slowly toward Angel. "I hear you already have plans. Gonna take that when you and the missus visit Sebassis? Why don't I think that's a gift?"

Hamilton punched Angel immensely hard, sending him through the penthouse windows, where Angel fell outside for a few stories before finally falling through the glass ceiling into the lobby. Angel landed on the floor in front of the elevator. Buffy waited until Hamilton got on the elevator to head downstairs before she booked it to the stairs.

In the lobby, Harmony turned to see what happened as Angel moaned as he tried to get to his feet. "Oh, my God!"

"Hamilton." Angel said.

"He's not my boyfriend. I mean, I certainly didn't betray you guys."

"Drop the act, Harm."

"It's not an act. I'm really this nervous."

"We knew you'd turn on us. We just didn't know when."

"What do you mean you knew?"

"Loyalty really isn't high on your list."

"Oh, is that right? I'll have you know I am damn loyal, dumbass."

"You betrayed us. You are betraying us now, even as we are talking."

"Because you guys never have any confidence in me."

"No, because you have no soul."

"I would if you had confidence in me."

"Get out of the building."

"Are you firing me?"

"Among other things, yes."

"You can't do that! I'm Buffy's assistant!"

"She gave me permission to fire you."

"Oh. Well, do you think I you could get me a recommendation?"

"Yeah, ok."

"But see, if you don't so much live as the other thing, how…."

"It's already in the desk."

"You guys're the best." Harmony went to the desk to get her things as Hamilton walked out of Buffy's office, slowly heading straight for Angel. "Good luck. Um…. may the best man win?" She shrugged and left.

"So. Where is the missus?" Hamilton asked.

"She'll be along shortly." Angel said, walking up to Hamilton. "She's baking you a present." He punched Hamilton hard in the stomach, but didn't even make a dent. "Did that hurt at all?"

"Little bit." Hamilton grabbed Angel by the windpipe and Angel winced as he was lifted off the ground. "But it's all part of the job." He threw Angel across the room so hard that Angel shattered a support post, going right through it.

Suddenly, Buffy came out of nowhere and jumped on Hamilton's back. "Hey, Hammy, how ya doing?" She wrapped her legs around his waist and twisted backwards, slamming her palms down and sending Hamilton sailing over her into a wall. Buffy flipped to her feet as Angel joined her.

"That was neat." Angel said.

"Thanks."

Hamilton got to his feet and he, Buffy, and Angel squared off. Angel got in a few good punches before Hamilton threw him into the elevator. Buffy lunged at Hamilton, but he punched her in the face, disorienting her. He picked Buffy up off the floor by her throat. "The Senior Partners have expended an awful lot of time and resources on you. Personally, I would have told them not to bother." He threw Buffy across the lobby, where she crashed into the company logo on the balcony.

Hamilton started to walk upstairs toward Buffy, but Angel hauled him back down. "And you! You're gutter trash, and that's where you should have stayed, drinking and whoring your way through an unremarkable life." Hamilton and Angel were throwing hard punches and kicks. "But the fates stepped in and made you a vampire, with a soul, no less. A champion. A hero of the people. And they teamed you up with the Slayer to make you see that. And yet, you still managed to fail everyone around you. Doyle. Cordelia. Dawn. They're all gone. Now it's time you two followed. Did you really think you were gonna kill Archduke Sebassis?"

"No…." Angel said.

Buffy kicked Hamilton in the back of the knees, knocking him down and freeing Angel. "I think we already did." Buffy helped Angel to his feet.

"I spiked his drink."

"We figured you were the one we needed to be alone with."

"Why? So I could kill you both?" Hamilton asked.

"Well, we thought the fight would be going a little better."

Hamilton grabbed Buffy's jacket and hauled her forward. Buffy kneed him in the groin and shoved him back, kicking him in the face for good measure. As he was bent over holding himself, Buffy spun into a roundhouse kick and brought her leg down half way through to land hard on Hamilton's neck, knocking him down. She went to kick him while he was down, but he grabbed her foot and yanked, sending her crashing onto her back painfully.

Angel moved in to help, but Hamilton kicked Angel in the face. Hamilton grabbed Buffy's jacket lapels and lifted her up while straddling her. He punched her in the face continuously. "Why do you keep fighting? You'd be dust by the time he atoned for all the sick things he's done."

Angel punched Hamilton in the face, knocking him away from Buffy. "People who don't care about anything will never understand the people who do."

Hamilton punched Angel hard, sending him across the room again. "Yeah, but we won't care."

Buffy laid on the floor trying to make the room stop spinning as Hamilton picked up a stake off Harmony's desk and stalked towards Angel. Hamilton hauled Angel up and reared back, ready to plunge the stake into Angel's chest. But before he could do it, someone punched him in the face, sending him flying across the room away from Angel. Hamilton went through a glass wall, shattering it.

"Care about that, dress-for-less?" Connor asked, rushing over to help Buffy to her feet.

"Nice pun." Buffy said, shaking her head. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"Illyria and I finished off our demons. She went to help Wesley and I came here looking for you guys since you weren't in the alley yet."

"Good to see you, son." Angel said.

"Are you ok? Did you get hurt?" Buffy asked, checking over Connor.

"Nah. I actually didn't do much fighting. Illyria took over after I killed the devil guy."

"Good.

Hamilton was suddenly there and he head-butted Connor. "What is with you people?" He threw Connor into the elevator doors, where he collapsed to the floor.

"Connor!" Buffy tried to go to Connor, but she was blocked by Hamilton. She tried to fight Hamilton but was instead thrown across the room by him again. Buffy landed painfully on the concrete steps.

As he started to fight Angel, Hamilton said, "Let me say this as clearly as I can. You cannot beat me. I am a part of them. The Wolf, Ram, and Hart. Their strength flows through my veins. My blood is filled with their ancient power."

Angel got to his feet with a smirk. "Can you pick out the one word there you probably shouldn't have said?" Angel vamped as he attacked Hamilton, biting him painfully in the jugular. Angel drank from him, holding on tenaciously as Hamilton struggled to get free. Hamilton was finally able to pull Angel's head away from his neck, and he threw him across the room again, but this time Angel controlled his motion, managing to rotate in the air and land on his feet. "Wow. You really are full of it." Hamilton swung at Angel, but Angel ducked. "What was that you were saying about ancient power?"

Hamilton threw another punch at Angel, but Angel caught his arm and punched Hamilton in the ribs. Hamilton swung with his free arm, hitting Angel in the face, but Angel returned the favor, punching Hamilton in the face. Hamilton grabbed Angel's windpipe again, holding him in the air. "You don't really think you're gonna win this, do you? You don't stand a chance. We are legion. We are forever."

Buffy knocked Angel free of Hamilton's grip and punched him repeatedly in the chest and stomach. Hamilton stumbled backwards, and Buffy sweep-kicked him in the ankles, bringing Hamilton to the floor. Hamilton struggled to get up to his knees, but Angel was there, punching him in the face. "Then I guess forever…."

"It just got a hell of a lot shorter." Buffy said as Angel punched Hamilton in the face, knocking him back into her. She twisted his head around viciously, breaking Hamilton's neck. Hamilton fell to the ground with a final grunt as Connor got to his feet.

"Is he dead?" Connor asked.

"Yeah, he's dead." Angel said. Suddenly, the building started shaking and rumbling. Windows were cracking. All around them the building was coming apart.

"Uh, that's not good, is it?"

"Wolfram & Hart."

"Looks like they're taking the gloves off." Buffy said.

"What do we do?" Connor asked.

"We get the hell out of here." Angel said as the concrete support beam fell from the ceiling onto the lobby floor. The building rumbled as yet another concrete ceiling joist fell, crushing the balcony. "Let's go!"

* * *

Buffy, Connor, and Angel ran down the alley behind the Hyperion, the two men carrying swords and Buffy carrying her scythe. They ran in the pouring rain and stopped at a chain-link fence at the end of the alley. Angel looked around for the others, but didn't see anyone. The sky thundered above them as the heavy rain continued.

"Boo." Spike walked out from the shadows.

"Anyone else?" Buffy asked.

"Not so far. You feel the heat?"

"It's coming." Angel said.

"Finally got ourselves a decent brawl."

Xander came running down the street toward them, holding Gunn up. "Damn! How did I know you four would pull through?" Gunn said, his steps becoming progressively less sure, weaker even. "You're lucky we're on the same side, dogs, 'cause I was on fire tonight. My game was tight." Xander helped Gunn collapse onto a box on which Gunn could sit down.

Spike looked at Gunn's wounds. "You're supposed to wear the red stuff on the inside, Charlie boy."

Xander hugged Buffy tightly. "I was worried about you."

"No need to do that." Buffy said, hugging him back. "I've got you covered."

"Any word on Wes?"

Illyria jumped down from the chain-link fence to stand behind Angel. "Wesley's dead." Everyone fell into a shocked silence. "I'm feeling grief for him. I can't seem to control it. I wish to do more violence."

Spike looked down the alley where a noisy crowd was getting closer. "Well, wishes just happen to be horses today."

"Among other things." Angel said, looking at the approaching crowd. It was hundreds, if not thousands, of demons of all sorts, shapes, and sizes. A huge winged dragon flew angrily toward them overhead.

"Ok. You take the 30,000 on the left…." Gunn started.

"You're fading. You'll last 10 minutes at best." Illyria said to him.

Gunn stood painfully. "Then let's make 'em memorable."

Buffy, Connor, and Angel stepped forward and Spike, Gunn, Xander, and Illyria followed. Spike was standing off to Buffy's left side as she stood at Angel's right. Connor was on Angel's left and was followed a step behind by Gunn on his right. Illyria and Xander stood together at Spike's left. They stared at the horde of demons approaching them in the alley.

"In terms of a plan?" Spike asked.

"We fight." Angel said simply.

"Bit more specific."

"Well, personally, I kind of want to slay the dragon." Buffy said. The demon horde attacked. She looked at Angel and he smiled.

"Let's go to work." Angel said, swinging his sword.


	88. Chapter 88 NEW

Chapter 88

Five years later:

Angel fell to his knees in sudden agony. Buffy stood over him, holding her bloody scythe at her side. The last demonic power of the Senior Partners was dead. It had been slain by Buffy herself. The war had gone on for five long years and it was finally over.

* * *

They'd made it out of the alley, thinking it was over. Gunn had almost bled to death before they could get him to the hospital. But they had made it. Everyone had made it out of there barely alive.

It had been Connor's idea to run to Cleveland to ask Faith for help. So, they had set out. But the second wave had caught up to them just as they made it out of Nevada. Luckily, there were two Slayers stationed there. Their Watcher was sent on to Cleveland to get help and to let them know that's where Buffy was headed. Surprisingly, everyone made it out of the second wave. Faith had gotten a hold of five more Slayers near that area and they had come to help, saving everyone at the last minute.

Buffy, Angel, Gunn, Illyria, Connor, Xander, and Spike made it to Cleveland. Faith and the other Slayers took them in. They had about three months of peace before the third wave of demons came. They beat them back, but the Cleveland compound was destroyed. Everyone was forced to go to London. Buffy and Angel were in agreement that the Senior Partners would come after them, so to keep the London compound safe, Buffy, Angel, Gunn, Illyria, Connor, Xander, and Spike ran to Nebraska.

Spike had chosen it because there was hardly anything there. "Great place for a massive battle, eh?" He had said. They lived there for almost a year with only the occasional demon or vamp slaying. Then the Senior Partners found them and sent the fourth wave after them. The seven of them had had time to prepare for it and had set traps to take out most of the demons. They won that one easily. Too easily for Buffy's taste.

Instead of staying in Nebraska, they had gone on to Australia. Again, they had time to prepare. The peace lasted for another ten months before the Senior Partners had found them again and sent the fifth wave. This time it wasn't so easy. Buffy had been taken out of the fight by a very large knife in her ribs and had nearly died. Luckily, with the help of her Slayer healing, her boys had managed to get her to the hospital in time. She had been stuck there for nearly a month until the doctors were sure she was healthy enough to leave.

Moving on again, Gunn suggested going to Mexico. The seven of them became a close knit family in those years of fighting. In Mexico, they lived near the jungle where Mayan ruins were strewn throughout the dense trees. They had fifteen months to learn the jungle and chart out good hiding places and battle grounds. Their plans were brilliant, but the Senior Partners had been preparing too. They knew the seven warriors were getting better. The sixth wave was the worst to date.

Their planning wasn't enough. Connor had been badly wounded and Gunn had been killed. They had twenty Slayers with them this time, but eleven of them were killed in the battle. In the end, Willow had been forced to teleport to Mexico to help in the magicks. They had won, but with Willow gone from the compound, the spell over it had weakened and the Senior Partners had attacked.

Luckily, when Willow had teleported back, the spell strengthened and had done its magicks, destroying the demons. Only eight Slayers had been killed and no real damage had been done to the buildings. After that, Buffy had refused to let Willow leave the compound until the Senior Partners were destroyed and she knew that the six of them that were left could never go to London until this was over. Angel suggested heading back towards California since that was the last place the Senior Partners would ever expect them to go because it was so close. He and Buffy had had a two day long argument over it, but in the end, Angel had won and they had gone home.

They stayed under the radar and managed to live a peaceful existence for almost two years. By then, Buffy was tired of waiting. She hadn't been sleeping well because she was terrified the Senior Partners would discover them and they wouldn't be ready. So, she had called in her Slayers and prepared a massive attack. Wolfram and Hart had been rebuilt in LA and was under new management. So, as a way to grab their attention, Buffy, Angel, Connor, Xander, Illyria, and Spike had attacked the building, taking out as many people as they could before bolting to the sewers. The Slayers were waiting just outside the city for the demons to attack, but this time, it had been the Senior Partners themselves.

No one had expected that and it had been one hundred Slayers, Faith, Buffy, Angel, Spike, Illyria, Connor, and Xander against the Senior Partners. They were old ones in their natural forms. Which meant that they were huge and had powers beyond belief. In the end, though, they had won by sheer will power. Of the hundred Slayers, only about thirty were left and everyone had incredibly bad wounds. Some of the warriors were so bad off that if they didn't get medical treatment soon, they would probably die. That included Connor, Xander, and Faith.

But as they made their way to the nearest hospital in LA, Angel had dropped to his knees screaming in agony.

* * *

Buffy stood over Angel and tried to help him up, but the deep gash in her shoulder was bleeding pretty badly and causing her arm to go numb.

"What's wrong?" Buffy asked.

"I…. AH!" Angel grabbed his chest.

Connor stopped to check on them, but Buffy waved him on. "Get them to the hospital. They'll die if you don't."

"What about you?" Connor asked.

"I'm not leaving him."

Spike moved up and helped Connor to walk. "Come on, slugger. You need medical attention."

Angel lay on the ground now, grasping his chest. Buffy kneeled beside him. "Angel?"

"My chest…. Everything hurts." Angel groaned.

Buffy ripped open his shirt and looked at his wounds. They were mostly starting to heal, but a couple of them were bleeding as if he had a pulse. "Angel?"

"My heart…. AH! It hurts. Everything…. Help me Buffy."

Buffy wiped away the blood from Angel's chest and laid her ear there. Angel's heart was slowly beginning to beat as she listened. His skin underneath her began to warm. "Spike!" Buffy screamed.

Spike came running back, handing Connor off to Faith. "What's wrong?"

"We need to get him to the hospital now. He's dying."

"They can't help him. He's a…."

"Human. These wounds are too bad. He's gonna die."

"Well, come on then." Spike helped Buffy lift Angel to his feet and together they hustled to the hospital. The girls that were the worst off were still being treated, but the rest of the Slayers got sent to the Hyperion by Faith. Buffy's wounds were severe, but they were healing fast and the doctor's stitched up what needed to be stitched up and sent her to the waiting room where Spike and Faith waited. Connor's arm was broken and he had a lot of stitching that needed to be done, so he was still with the doctors. Xander was in critical condition from all the cuts and loss of blood, but the doctors said they expected a full recovery.

Angel, however, was a different story. They had rushed him away from Buffy and into surgery. Now, Spike, Buffy, and Faith waited to find out if he was going to live. Buffy, whose arm was in a sling because of the deep stab wound in her shoulder, paced the length of the waiting room. Illyria had taken on Dawn's form to pass as human in front of the doctors and she sat in the corner.

"B, sit down. You're making me anxious. Or at least more anxious than I was before." Faith said.

"What's taking so long?" Buffy asked.

"You saw his wounds." Spike said. "That's what's taking so long."

"He probably has internal bleeding." Faith said.

"That's bad." Buffy said.

"Not really. These doctors are good, B. Angel's going to be fine."

"Don't say that! Take that back."

"What? Why?"

"You'll jinx him!"

"B, relax. He's going to be fine."

"If he bites it, I'm not protecting you." Spike said to Faith.

Connor walked in with a cast on his wrist and was covered in bandages. "How's dad?"

"No word." Buffy said, hugging him with her one good arm. "The evil nurses won't tell me anything until the doctor comes out." She checked his bandages. "How are you?"

"I can't feel much. The doctor gave me some serious drugs." He smiled goofily.

"Yeah, me too. They'll wear off, though."

"Well, then I'll enjoy them while I've got them." Connor sat down easily in a chair. "So, he's human?"

"Yeah."

"What a way to get a reward." Faith said. "Turn human and you're dying right out of the gate."

"I'm sorry, Spike." Buffy said. "I know you…."

"Nah. It's much more fun being a creature of the night." Spike said. "I can do things as a vampire that I can't as a human." He wagged his eyebrows at Faith and she smiled back flirtatiously.

Buffy smiled. "Well, maybe now that Angel's shanshued, that prophecy will be about you."

"I've got a lot of atoning to do. But the Powers didn't tap me for that job. That was Angel's business. The Powers led him to you; you led him to his redemption and his reward."

"Yeah, some reward. He can't even enjoy it."

"He's got the rest of your lives to enjoy it. And trust me, he will."

"So, how many kids do you guys want?" Faith asked, lightening the mood and making everyone laugh.

Buffy was about to answer, but the doctor walked in. Everyone stood up and Buffy turned to the doctor. "How is he?"

"He's stable. He's got a long road to recovery ahead of him, but he's going to be just fine. There was some internal bleeding, but we managed to stop it. He's got quite a few bumps and bruises that'll make him sore for a good long while. The stab wounds that he suffered were pretty deep and those will take the longest to heal. He can't strain himself for a while, so you'll have to help him."

"No problem. Can I see him now?"

The doctor smiled. "He's just been moved to ICU, so only one person at a time."

Buffy looked back at Connor. "Go ahead. He'll want to see you." Connor said.

Buffy followed the doctor through the hallways and to a set of double doors that could only be opened with a key card or with permission from someone on the inside through a call box. Angel's room was on the other side of the ICU ward. The doctor held Angel's door open for Buffy. "The anesthesia will wear off soon and he'll be waking up."

"Will he be in pain?"

"A little, but not much. He's on a morphine drip at the moment. If he's in a lot of pain, he can press this button right here and it will give him more. There's a limit, though. So after the limit's reached, he can press it till the apocalypse, but he's not getting anymore unless I say so."

"Thank you."

"Anytime."

"Uh, how long are visiting hours?"

"You're his wife, I presume."

"How'd you…."

The doctor pointed to the Claddagh ring on Buffy's left ring finger. "My parents are Irish."

"Oh."

"You're the only one that can stay with him twenty four seven. The others can only stay for thirty minutes at a time until he starts showing progress."

"Thank you."

"If you need me, I'll be making my rounds in the ward. Just ask the nurse for me."

"Ok." The doctor left and Buffy sat down next to Angel's bed. She never thought she'd be in this position with him. It was always the other way around. She picked up his hand and held it, stroking the back of his hand with her thumb like he used to do her. He was bandaged up in multiple places and Buffy could see stitches through the bandage at his hairline.

There was a steady beeping sound in the room and at first Buffy couldn't fathom what it was. She looked around the room and discovered a heart monitor showing Angel's heart rate. Buffy felt overjoyed suddenly that it was for real and she laid her head on his chest and listened to the thump, thump, thump there. She tuned out the annoying beeping so she could just listen to the thump, thump, thump. She lost track of time and fell asleep to the steady rhythm. When she felt Angel's hand jump and heard him groan, she snapped awake and looked up at him.

"Angel?"

He looked around, obviously disoriented. "Where…."

"You're in the hospital."

Angel's eyes found hers and she saw the confusion there. "I don't…." Then he felt it and heard the beeping sound. "I'm…." He put his hand to his chest and lay very still. "I'm…."

"Human." Buffy wiped away the tears that had silently begun to fall.

"How?"

"Shanshu. That's my only guess."

"What happened to me?"

"You were hurt pretty bad. When you…. Changed…. Those injuries were still there. You're lucky you're not…." Buffy choked on a sob.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing…. I'm just…. Happy." She was so elated that she had managed to get the hiccups.

Angel laughed and then groaned from the pain it caused him. "When can I get outta here?"

Buffy smiled and placed her hand on his cheek, rubbing with her thumb. "You'll be here for a while, sweetie. You don't have those crazy, supernatural healing powers anymore."

"What about Spike?"

"He's still got those. The prophecy was about you, babe." Angel winced. "Are you in pain? The doctor said you can just push that…."

"I'm ok. Well, I've got a little pain, but I think they've got some drugs in me that make me feel nice. But…. I was wincing because I'm hungry."

"Oh."

"My stomach hurts."

"Well, I could get the nurse to get you some food. I'm sorry it has to be hospital food. Not the best thing to have as your first meal as a human."

"We'll get some peanut butter and chocolate later."

"Well, I'm glad your near-death experience hasn't done anything to your libido."

He smiled. "Not while you're around." He tugged on her good arm and she lifted up to kiss him gently, laying in the bed next to him.


	89. Chapter 89 NEW

Chapter 89

Two years later

Buffy found herself rushing to the hospital once again in the middle of the night. Pain slammed through her again and she breathed deeply. Angel was right behind her carrying the overnight bag that was packed with practically everything they owned. He rushed into the car and then got back out to help Buffy down their front steps and into the passenger seat. They were on their way to the hospital because their daughter had decided to come two weeks early and in the middle of the night.

Connor came running out of the house in his pajama bottoms and a T-shirt, not wanting to miss the birth of his little sister. It had been a long road to this point. Angel had been in the hospital almost a month before they released him. He had a few scars left over from it, but he didn't mind. Buffy was still a Slayer, but she had retired after the battle with the Senior Partners, leaving the world to the other Slayers.

Angel had become a teacher at the Watcher's Council compound in England. Buffy oversaw everything that happened there because Giles had chosen to retire in his old age. He had given Buffy and Angel his beautiful estate home to live in and had moved to a much smaller house on the edge of the compound. Less than a year ago, Buffy and Angel had gotten married in a quiet little ceremony in their backyard. Only their closet friends had attended. Not long after that, Buffy had announced she was pregnant. They had been trying since Angel had gotten out of the hospital, but it hadn't taken until eight months and twelve days ago.

Xander was a Watcher for two of the Slayers in New York. Willow had become Buffy's second in command at the compound and had taken over Buffy's duties when she had become too pregnant to work. Xander was engaged to a woman named Amanda who he had met just before Buffy and Angel got married. Willow was single, but happy. Spike and Faith had hit it off and were currently shacked up in Cleveland together. Illyria stayed on the compound in her own apartment, but she rarely came out. Fred had become a physics professor at Oxford and had met a man there that loved her. She still hadn't completely gotten over losing Wesley, though, so things were moving slow for them. Connor had become a teacher at the compound and was dating one of the Slayers named Holly. He trained the Slayers in fighting skills and some weaponry.

After years of fighting and heartbreak and anguish, things were finally good for the champions. They had made it through battle after battle and loss after loss and the first cries of little Bridget Cathleen Summers marked the beginning of a long life of happiness for all of them.

**THE END**


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